English Vampires
by Landiana
Summary: What if the Cullen family had moved away from Forks before Bella even moved there because someone was suspicious of them? What if they moved halfway across the world to Basingstoke, a small town in England? How would they react to a diferent culture?
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: New Student

Prologue

My life was never very interesting. Living in the same place for the last ten years had made everything seem the same, every day more of the same repetitive pattern, with minor changes. But I was comfortable in the pattern, unwilling to move on from my niche. I was happy.

Then he came and changed my life. And that was why I was standing here, looking through a window, on what was surely going to end with my death. But nothing would make me regret letting him into my life. He had changed the pattern, and for that I was grateful. For those few months I was able to see how my life could have been.

I closed my eyes and opened the door.

Chapter one: New Student

I opened the door and suppressed a grin as I saw what greeted me. Snow. The first proper snow I had seen in years, ever since I had moved from Wales, and that was ten years ago now. I closed the door and turned back to the shoes cupboard. It looked like I wouldn't be wearing ballet flats today. Instead I pulled out a pair of flat black boots and tugged them on, slipping them over my blue skinny jeans.

I walked back into the hallway and grabbed my beanie hat from where it hung on the end of the staircase and looked up the stairs. My brother was just coming out of his bedroom door.

"Hey Matt, it's snowed!" I shouted to him. He came charging down the stairs and smiled up at me.

"Really! Do you think school will be closed?" I smiled at his exuberance and reached across to ruffle his short brown hair. Matt was ten years old, but he wasn't tiny. I could see him catching up on me, height wise, and could see that it would not be long until he was able to look me straight in the eye. I suppressed a sigh. I wasn't exactly tiny; I think that 5 foot 5 is a perfectly reasonable height for an eighteen year old. But having my ten year old brother only 7 inches behind me was a bit concerning.

"I doubt it Matt. They had your school open when it was hailing down. I doubt 4 inches of snow would stop them from opening for the day. And it's only a ten minute walk anyway." I saw his face fall slightly as he considered my words. Frowning he turned his back on me he walked into the kitchen, probably to moan at mum about the fact he would have to go to school on a snow day. I smiled again and jammed my hat onto my head. I pulled my coat from the pile which was growing under the stairs and put it on, grateful for the warmth.

"Mum, I'm leaving now," I shouted to my mother as I walked out of the door. I faintly heard her saying goodbye before the frosty wind slammed the door shut. I turned and locked the door behind me, then pressed my car keys. The lights on my beat up old Ford Fiesta lit up, and I walked slowly towards it, savouring the feel of the snow on my face. I climbed into the car, and put the keys in the ignition. I was so grateful that I could drive now. I had got my full license a couple of days after my eighteenth birthday, but it was only a month ago that I'd been able to afford to get myself a car. Now I was able to drive to college, rather than waiting for the public bus which was so unreliable. Of course downsides came with the fact that I was one of the few in my group of friends who owned a car. I was always the one who drove when we went out. But at least now I could decide what time I would get to college.

About ten minutes later I was parked in the student parking, as far away from the buildings as I could be. I wanted to walk through the snow, to feel its soft touch on my face. As I got out of the car I noticed a new car in the parking lot. It was a shiny silver Volvo, an S60 R. It stood out in the mix of old and battered cars, the only things that most students at QMC could afford. I noticed the shiny flawless paint job, which had no scratches. It looked like who ever owned it cared about it. I sighed enviously. What I wouldn't do for a fast car like that. I walked slowly through the snow, taking the outdoors route to my first class of the day; Modern History.

As I tripped through the door I noticed that there was a new student talking to Martin, our lecturer. She was small, about 5 foot 2, and had spiky black hair. That wasn't the first thing that I noticed, though. She was absolutely gorgeous. Pale, flawless skin, golden eyes and a perfect pixie bow mouth. Her head moved towards where I was standing in the door for a fraction of a second, and then turned back to Martin. She nodded a couple of times, then stepped aside as Martin moved to stand in front of the group. I hurried to my seat at the back of the room, next to my friend Kerry, and took my hat and coat off, hanging them on the radiator behind me.

"Right is everyone here?" Martin asked the group as he looked around. When we nodded as a group he started speaking to the girl again. "You can go sit in one of the empty spaces, then." She nodded and walked gracefully to the empty seat next to me. I was surprised. I would have expected a girl who looked like her to have chosen to sit next to one of the other good looking girls. Girls like that tend to group together in the classroom, and the group in our history class had a spare seat on the end of their area. I was also surprised by the way she walked. It didn't even look like she was walking. It was almost like dancing. She was a sports person, obviously, because that amount of grace wasn't natural.

As she sat down Greg on her other side started to turn towards her, but when she looked directly at him he shuffled away. That looked odd to me, because I could see nothing wrong with her.

"Right folks, settle down. Now today we are going to be looking at the anti-war movement in USA in the 1960's in response to the Vietnam War. Open your textbooks to page 234 please." Martin turned towards the whiteboard and began to write random words spread out across it. I turned my attention to my book and pulled a couple of sheets of blank paper from my binder. I noticed that the girl next to me didn't have a textbook, only a binder and paper.

"Um, do you want to share my book? Since you don't have one?" I asked her quietly as Martin turned back to look at the class.

"Thank you," she said, and looked at me for a few moments, as if she hadn't expected anyone to offer her anything. "My name is Alice Cullen."

"Hi Alice, My name is Rebecca, but everyone just calls me Bex" I said as Martin shushed the class. I smiled at her, and then turned to the textbook.

It was a little while later before I could talk to Alice again. It seemed like I was the only one who was bothered about talking to this new girl who had moved into our class halfway through the year. I was interested in the reasons for joining our class so late into the second year of A levels. But I didn't understand why no one else was interested. Greg hadn't looked at her again. No one had after the initial 'who is that'. Martin had sent us taking notes from the textbook after lecturing to us for close to half hour.

"So Alice, how come you moved to Basingstoke?" I asked her as I turned the page to the next section. She smiled at me again, and I was struck with how pixie like she was. A beautiful pixie though.

"My father got a job at the hospital here after my mother decided that she wanted to get out of America," she said as she looked down at the page to copy down some more notes. I was shocked by how many notes she had made, and how neat they were. My own notes were a mess that I would have to type up later if I wanted to be able to use them when the exams came around. The bell rang then, surprising me. I hadn't realised that so much time had passed. I stood up and put my binder and textbook into my backpack, while reaching behind me to see if my hat had dried out at all. It had a bit. "Thank you for letting me share your book. I will have to get one before the next lecture." Alice's high pixie voice interrupted my train of thought. I smiled at her.

"That's fine, honestly. Do you know where your next class is?" I asked, unsure if she would know. With a campus as big as QMC it was easy to get lost, as I had discovered on my first day, embarrassingly having to stop loads of people in the middle of the hallway to find out where the English block was.

"Yes, I am meeting someone at the entrance to the cafeteria. But I am not sure where that is," she said, her face puckering up slightly.

"I have a free period now, if you want me to take you there," I said as I pulled on my coat and hat.

"Thank you, again. I like your hat," she said as she too pulled on a coat which had been draped across the back of her chair. I blushed slightly at the compliment and smiled at her. She seemed like a really nice person. Too bad no one wanted to give her the time of the day. We walked out of the room towards the door to the outside. The snow had built up again, and I couldn't wait to get out into it. Alice walked out of the door after me and giggled as the snow hit her. "Just wondering, but why are we going outside?"

"Oh sorry Alice, we can go the inside way if you want. I just like being out when it snows like this, because we haven't had snow in so long." I smiled apologetically and began to turn around to go back inside.

"No, don't worry I like being outside."

Me and Alice got to the cafeteria a few minutes later. The outside route was so much quicker, and I knew that after I had dropped her with her friend then I would have to stop in the cafeteria to get something to eat. I was starving, and I'd only had breakfast two hours ago. As we went around the corner I saw someone standing underneath the shelter which covered the entrance. As we got closer he turned around, and I was surprised once more. The guy that Alice had come to meet was incredibly attractive, he looked like he wouldn't be out of place on a movie set as the leading man. He had honey blond hair, and was tall and muscular. I could see that, even though he was wearing a big coat. Alice danced forward the last few steps and put her arms around him. He hugged her back, and then looked over her shoulder at me curiously. Alice turned around, keeping her arm around him to look back at me. He was obviously her boyfriend that much I could see from the way his arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, from the way he looked at her. I sighed. Did everyone have partners or boyfriends? I swear, I was the only one in my group of friends who didn't have anyone, and that really got to me at times. They were all so loved up.

"Thank you Bex for showing me how to get here. Bex, this is Jasper, Jazz this is Bex," I smiled at Jasper and noticed that he had exactly the same shade eyes, the same pale skin.

"Are you sure you are going to be alright getting to your lesson?" Alice nodded at me. "Okay then, I'll see you later then," Alice smiled and the two of them began to walk away down the path. Before they left I noticed a slight incredulous look in Jasper's eyes. I was slightly confused by this, but I shook it off and pulled my phone out. I knew that my best friend had a free period at this time now, because he was in most of my classes, so I text him, asking if he wanted to grab something to eat. He text back almost straight away saying that he was on his way. I replaced my phone in my pocket and looked back out at the snow. Something about the past few minutes bugged me. It took me a little while before I realised what it was. After meeting Jasper, Alice had walked with him purposefully away. It looked like she knew where she was going, but then why had she said she didn't know? It was confusing. The more I thought about it the more questions kept on popping into my head. How had she known that there was a way inside to the cafeteria? Why was everyone else avoiding her during our lesson? A pair of hands came down on my shoulders, frightening me. I hadn't been paying attention to my surroundings.

"What you thinking about so hard," Dale teased as we walked through the door. I just shook my head, and slipped my arm through his. This was how we always were. Lots of people mistook us as a couple, but it was totally platonic for both of us. Dale had a long term girlfriend who he was ecstatically happy with. We have always acted like this though, since we were in secondary school. Of course, some of it had something to do with the fact that I had serious balance issues. "Seriously, Bex, I've haven't seen you like this for ages. What's up?"

"Don't worry Dale, it's nothing, I was just.... thinking about what happened in Modern History today. You were in the class. Don't you think it's weird that no one else made the effort to talk to Alice? I mean she's gorgeous, I don't get why the boys who think they are all that didn't make an effort." The words burst out in a torrent as I tried to verbalise part of what I was thinking about. I wasn't going to tell him about the other stuff, about how she had acted after class. Even to me it sounded stupid. But I couldn't help the thoughts being there.

"I dunno. I think it might be that she's new, and they are intimidated, because they don't know if she has a big burly boyfriend. Or maybe it's the fact that she just seems a bit... off, you know, not quite right. There's something strange about her that just puts guys off." Dale said seriously. I poked him in the stomach and smiled as he overplayed the moaning.

"And how would you notice that Mr. "I am perfectly devoted to Leanne, I would NEVER notice any other girl" eh," I teased and laughed at the mock outraged face he pulled.

"I am devoted to her, I just noticed Alice. But c'mon, you gotta admit. There is something weird about Alice Cullen."


	2. Chapter 2: Alice's Family

Chapter two: Alice's Family

At the end of the free period me and Dale parted to go to our respective lessons, him to Economics, and me to English Literature. This was the lesson which I most looked forward to in my day. I loved books, and analysing them was awesome, because I got to read old favourites and was introduced to new ones which I might not have considered. We were currently studying Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, which was by far my favourite Austen book. I think part of why I loved English Literature so much was the fact that I was able to voice my opinion on the books, and look into why the author chose to do what they did with the plot, characters and writing. I stepped out into the snow, which still hadn't let up. Snow soon settled into my long brown hair, and on my coat I smiled and held out my hand to the wet flakes which were so beautiful, even if they did look like white mush.

I stepped out of the snow into the warm corridor, and hurried to the end classroom. I was running late, because me and Dale had dithered in the cafe for too long. When I got there almost the whole class was there, and someone new. He was sat in the space next to my chair, which had been empty since Hannah Greeves had had a meltdown in class and dropped out of the course. He was so good looking that it almost hurt. He had untidy bronze coloured windswept hair, deep golden eyes and pale skin which I had only seen on two people beforehand; Alice and Jasper. This must be her brother then, or maybe Jasper's. Whoever he was he looked like a Greek god. He looked like he didn't belong in QMC, but on television and magazine adverts. He looked like the sort of person you see in a magazine and think "oh he must have been airbrushed, because no one could be that hot!" I was so preoccupied by him, that I didn't notice the desk in front of me. I walked right into it, and tripped over the leg, falling onto the floor with a bump. Ouch, that hurt my butt. As I tried to get up as dignified as possible I saw that I had captured his attention. Great, I thought, the first thing he sees me do is go and act like the klutz that I normally am. I picked up a piece of my hair and brushed my fingers through it quickly. The snow had melted in it, and now all of my hair which wasn't covered by my hat was wet. No change there though, because Basingstoke was normally rainy and wet. Something I was used to by now.

I walked towards my desk, grinning at Laura whose seat was behind mine. Me and Laura had been friends since year 10, and I was the one who had convinced her to take English Lit. It looked like she was very happy about that choice right then. Her eyes were wide open as she realised that I was going to get to sit next to this new boy.

Then my gaze drifted back to him and I was shocked. He was glaring murderously at me, his hands were balled up and it didn't look like he was breathing very much. I stumbled again, put off by the glare he was directing at me. Slowly I sat down in my seat and pulled out my blue ring binder. His intense glare had moved to the teacher at the front of the classroom. I was glad it wasn't on me anymore. I flicked my hair so it made a protective wall between me and him, and then I began taking notes on the lecture.

For that whole lesson I sat there, very aware of his presence. It was only when Kim, the lecturer took the register at the end of the session that I found out his name. Edward Cullen. His yes was a very tight lipped murmur, almost a growl. Then he nearly ran out of the room in his haste to leave. I thought about his odd behaviour. Edward. I had always liked that name. Looked like the person with that name didn't like me though. Or was I being egotistical? Maybe he just didn't like English Lit and had been forced to take it. Or maybe something else had annoyed him. it couldn't possibly be me. I mean I hadn't even said one syllable to him. But then why? I sat there for a moment, numb, and then started to collect my things. Laura tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was still going to town with her after next lesson, even though it was snowing. Every Tuesday we both had a half day, and so had got into the tradition of going into town and getting the unhealthiest meal we could find; McDonalds, and a major chocolate binge. At the moment in was Cadbury's cream egg's, because they were already selling them in the shops, even though it was only January. I said I was up for it and then walked upstairs to the language lab. It was here that I had French. Maybe now I would be able to forget the strange Cullens.

No luck there. As I walked up to line up to go into the classroom I spotted Jasper leaning across the wall from our classroom door. As soon as it opened he walked in with the rest of the class. At least in this class I had people on both sides, so I wouldn't have to deal with the erratic behaviour which I had begun to associate with his girlfriend and her brother.

"Today we are going to work on you oral conversation. As you know part of your final exam is an oral conversation with the examiner. I will give each partnership a topic to discuss. Can you please go into your normal pairs." James, our lecturer announced. I could see that he was going to enjoy today's session. He would have to do next to no teaching, only listen to people speaking and interrupt when people pronounced something wrong, or said something that didn't make sense. Which with some couples was very often. I looked around for my normal partner, Kelly, but I couldn't see her. I went to James and asked him where she was.

"It says here that she is really ill and can't some to college. I think that she phoned the college. Sorry Bex, but you're going to have to partner someone else." He looked around for a moment, and then his eyes landed on someone. I could almost hear the name before James said it. Wasn't that just typical, after the lesson I'd just had. "You can partner Jasper, he hasn't got a partner."

I nodded at James and went to sit on the conversation desk he was sat at. The classroom was laid out in a particular way, so that people could do conversation classes easily. At the centre of the classroom were four rows of desks, which we sat in for the majority of the lessons. But around the edge of the classroom were smaller desks which had chairs opposite each other. It was here we did all of our oral work. As I sat Jasper looked at me curiously, as if he was looking for something in my reaction to him. I acted normally and put my backpack onto the floor, making sure it didn't drip on the pristine floor. When I looked up I could a hint of frustration on his face. I was intrigued by this.

James interrupted our silent scrutiny of each other by walking up to us and telling us our topic for conversation. Talk about Basingstoke. Quite a wide topic and I waited for Jasper to ask the first question.

"Quest-ce qu'il y a à Basingstoke pour les jeunes?" what is there in Basingstoke for teenagers? A pretty simple question, the sort of one you would expect to hear in GCSE oral exams. I was surprised by the quality of his intonation and accent though, because most students studying French didn't have an accent which could rival a native French persons. Shaking my head slightly I thought for a moment about my answer, then answered.

"Il y a beaucoup à Basingstoke pour les jeunes. Par example, la piscine est fantastique, parce qu'il y a trios tobbogans et deux piscines. Aussi....."

I enjoyed speaking French Jasper. He actually understood the complex idea's I was trying to convey with him, something that rarely happened. Normally Kelly would, but that was about it in this class. I also enjoyed listening to him speaking French. There was something appealing about his voice, and the level of sophistication in his French was amazing. I was disappointed when James clapped his hands and said that the lesson was ended. I picked up my bag, and was just about to put my coat on when Jasper said my name. I looked around, slightly surprised.

"Bex, Alice asked me to thank you for helping her today, and that she will see you tomorrow in History." His low melodious voice made me think about the similarities between him and Alice. The both had appealing voices, and were really good looking. They really were a well matched couple.

"That's alright Jasper. Tell Alice that it was nothing, and that I look forward to seeing her again." Again an incredulous look appeared on his face, for a moment, then he masked it, as if he realised that I had noticed it.

"I will. You know, you are really good at French," he said as he swept out of the door, looking as graceful and elegant as Alice did while he walked. I was left standing there, blushing at his compliment. What was it about these people I was meeting today? Two of them had complimented me more than I normally was, and the other.... well the other had treated me like I was some sort of evil disease. I sighed and walked out of the classroom.

I walked slowly across campus to Laura's fine art class, trying to absorb all of the weird things which had happened to me during that long, really odd day. The oddest of all. Edward Cullen. I couldn't get his reaction out of my head. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't my fault, and that he was just like that. It was not my fault. I did nothing wrong. I chastised myself for thinking this, but I couldn't help it. He just didn't make sense. I ran my fingers through my wet hair and admired the white snowflakes in it. At least I still had the snow. That at least was normal. Not much else had been.

Laura met me outside her class, and as I hugged her I noticed Alice over her shoulder. I waved to Alice, and she waved back, her pixie face crunching up into a smile. Laura looked around to see who I was waving at and looked at me oddly. I shrugged and motioned for her to go towards the car park. We walked to my car and dumped our backpacks in it, grabbing our town bags out of it. We were in a regular pattern with this. We would walk into town, because we could cut across a couple of playing fields, which ended up quicker than driving. Then at three we would walk back to college to pick up Kerry and Dale, and we would all go out for dinner. It was a ritual which we had established when we started at college. We started walking towards town, chatting animatedly about the trip to Reading we had planned for the next weekend. We all wanted to get out of Basingstoke, to get to the bigger town, with the different shops in the shopping centre. All of a sudden Laura changed the track of the conversation.

"So I talked to my mum after English Lit..." she grinned at me.

"Laura you are a legend. I actually love you!" I grinned back at her. Her mum was one of the people who worked at the college looking after all of the transcripts and the new students. She would know all of the information about this curious new trio. I knew my enthusiasm wasn't for gossip though. I wasn't normally a gossip, or someone who talked about other people behind their backs. I just really wanted to know what Edward Cullen's problem was. "So, give me the information!"

"So Alice and Edward are siblings, and they also have an older brother, who I think is called Emmett. They were all adopted by Doctor Cullen and his wife. But get this; Mrs Cullen is also the foster mother of Jasper, and his twin sister, Rosalie. And you know Jasper and Alice are together, and apparently Rosalie and Emmett are together. And they live together." Laura looked shocked by this. I admit, I thought that it was odd, but they were all seventeen or eighteen, so it wasn't as if they were underage. Laura carried on. "Apparently they moved in about a week ago, but only started in college today because it took their transcripts a while to come from their old school in America. They moved from this small town in Washington, I think it's called Forks? Well something like that. They are all kinda odd though, aren't they?"

"I thought Alice and Jasper were really nice. Alice specially," I didn't mention the questions which had been in my mind since that morning at the cafe. But I didn't get why everyone thought that these beautiful new people were odd. First Dale in the cafeteria, and now Laura. I admit Edward had freaked me out, by the way he was towards me, but the other two had been lovely to me. maybe it was because I was the only one who had made an effort towards them. I still didn't understand why no one else did though. They didn't give me the same odd vibe that they seemed to give to everyone else. Something else struck me then. "Wait, you said that Jasper and... Rosalie were twins. Has she enrolled in college?"

"No, mum said that she hasn't. She said it was something about wanting to have a gap year the same time that Emmett did. Or something like that. Anyway, about Reading, do you think it will still be snowing by then?" Laura linked her arm through mine and we began talking about the trip again. Clearly I had found out all of the information I could do from Laura. I would have to find out Edward's problem myself. It bugged me that I wanted to know about this boy. It shouldn't bother me that he had behaved the way he did. I had a great group of friends. Why did I need this strange boy to accept me? I didn't, I tried to tell myself. But there was still a small part of me which wondered why.


	3. Chapter 3: Back To Normal Almost

Chapter three: Back to normal... almost

I got in at about seven, after dropping everyone off at home. At least we were taking the train up to Reading, rather than me driving everyone up there. I felt mean for thinking that then, because everyone always chipped in for my petrol money. And I always offered the lifts; it wasn't as if they expected it. I didn't like the thought of them walking home in the dark, especially not now with the snow and ice. I dropped my bag in the hallway and pulled my coat and hat off, calling out to mum to tell her I was home. Matt ran out of the lounge and pulled a face at me.

"How come you get to go out to dinner every Tuesday? It's not fair, I never get to go out," he moaned at me, then swiped at my hand as I reached out to ruffle his messy brown hair. He glared at me for that, but I just smiled as sweetly as I could down at him. He grimaced at me and crossed his arms sulkily. To me it just looked cute. He would have hit me if I had said that though. Matt had got past the point where being called cute was a compliment. He took it as an insult.

"Because I pay for it myself, with my wages," I grinned at him as I walked into the kitchen. I smelt the unmistakeable smell of cooking dough. Mum and Matt had been making cakes. "Mmm, mum it smells awesome." I reached for one of the cakes out of the first batch which was cooling down on the rack.

"Oi, keep away from them. I told Matt that he could have the first taste of them," My mother said as she batted my hand away from them. I pouted slightly then laughed. I got told a lot that I look like my mum. She had shorter hair though, and it was a deep red. I had inherited her slender body and natural hair colour. I had also inherited a lot of her personality characteristics as well. Like sarcasm. Specially sarcasm. That was my speciality when it came to humour.

"Yeah, the cakes are all mine!" Matt shouted through the door.

I woke up in the morning from a sleep which had been full of dreams that I couldn't remember. I had been restless in the night though, because one of my pillows was on the other side of the room. I could just remember watching eyes had been in all of my dreams, no matter where the dream was. I grabbed my glasses from the side and brushed my side fringe to where it was meant to sit on my forehead. As I stood up my alarm started chirping cheerily. I switched it off and looked out of the window. The snow was still there, but it was a light dusting compared to the day before. That meant only one thing. Ice. I groaned aloud at that. I could drive on ice, I wasn't worried about that. It was the walking I was scared of. I had done myself too many injuries on ground less perilous than ice. I changed out of my pyjamas into a warm purple turtleneck jumper and my favourite skinny jeans then ran downstairs to grab some breakfast.

Half hour later I was in my car on the way to college. I had made it out of the house without any incidents, but I had no hope for that to continue. As I drove through the roads as carefully as I could my mind wandered backwards, to the day before. More accurately to the Cullen's the day before. Even more accurately, Edward. I hated that I was letting myself obsess over his behaviour. I wanted to know whether he would act the same as the day before, or whether he would actually treat me like a human being. We would have double English Lit together, and I wondered how that would affect the lesson.

I parked as close as I could to school. There was no point in tempting fate as far as falling was concerned. I realised as I went to get out of the car that the shiny silver Volvo was backing into the space next to me. It was the S60 R which I had noticed yesterday. The driver pulled it into the space in one quick motion, and then turned the ignition off. I was leaning over to the backseat to grab my bag when the driver's door opened. Jasper got out and slammed the door shut. It figured that the Cullens would have the nice car. I tried to crane my neck slyly to see if Edward was getting out of the car. I could only see Alice. I shook my head and pulled my phone out of the front pocket of my bag. It looked like I wouldn't be seeing Edward today in English. A sudden thought gripped me. What if I was the reason he wasn't in school? I shook my head and shoved my phone into my pocket. I was being stupid and suspicious again. This was not about me.

The rest of that day, and the rest of the month passed in a blur. Edward Cullen hadn't been in lessons all month. Our trip to Reading came and went. I still sat next to Alice in History, and we made small talk, but I didn't have the courage to ask her where her brother was. Alice talked to me like any normal teenage girl, but no one else talked to her, just looked incredulously at me, every time I talked to her. I had stopped trying to understand why everyone else ignored her and Jasper. Maybe they were just intimidating to everyone else because they were new.

Kelly was back in college the next day, so I wasn't partnered with Jasper again. He ended up partnered with Thea, who had also been ill on his first day. I always made the effort to say hello to him, though and to ask him how he was. Whenever he answered me he always looked amazed, as if he didn't expect me to talk to him. I didn't get that either. There was a lot to do with the Cullens which I didn't get.

I woke up in the morning on Saturday and sighed. I had survived the oddest month I'd had since I started at college, and that was saying something. Today I was going to enjoy myself, and I resolved not to think about any of the Cullens. I pulled on my jeans and a brown turtleneck jumper. I twisted my hair up and held it back with a clip, because I couldn't be bothered to do anything with it. I was going into town to meet up with Kelly and Mary-Alice, another one of our friends who had taken scientific subjects at college, for lunch, but I wanted to go into town to look at some books and a new jumper. I had work after lunch, so I decided to go into town early and then meet them. I grabbed a Nutrigrain bar from the cupboard, and then slipped my boots on. The snow had gone completely, replaced by rain, so I wanted to keep dry. I missed the snow already though, because the rain had characterised my life for so long, and I enjoyed the breath of fresh air the snow had brung. It wasn't as if I was going to be as lucky as to get any sun. We were lucky if we got ten days of sun in the whole summer.

I got into town about ten minutes later, thanks to empty roads and several lucky traffic lights. I parked in the multi story car park, and walked along the side of the road to get to the entrance to the shopping centre, idly looking at the cars which were parked there. I liked cars, and looking at the sort of cars which were in the car park was always... interesting. They ranged from large family cars, like the Vauxhall Zafira, to the flash sports cars which not many people could afford. Occasionally there was a really nice car, like a Porsche, or maybe, if I was lucky an Aston Martin. Today there was not much of interest in the car park. Only one car stood out to me. A red convertible BMW M3.

I walked slowly around town, realising how early it actually was. There were barely any people there. I checked my phone, and it said it was ten thirty. I had an hour and half to kill before I was meeting Kelly and Mary-Alice. I wandered down one of the walkways to my favourite bookshop.

Almost half an hour later I walked out of the shop, holding a very heavy bag. I had bought more books than I should have, but I was happy with that. I was getting paid this week anyway. I resolved not to read these books too quickly, like I normally did. I spent most of my money on books, not clothes like a normal teenage girl would have. As I continued up the walkway I felt eyes boring into my back. I shook off the suspicion and continued walking towards New Look. The feeling of being watched did not go away. I walked into the shop, but did not really look at the clothes. I had lost interest, because of the feeling of being watched. I walked out of the shop without buying anything and walked across the street towards the coffee shop. I could feel the eyes on me again, and I whirled around. A bit further down the walkway was a couple leaning against one of the shop window, looking at me. Well, the guy was looking at me. The girl was glaring. They were both fairly tall, and good looking. He was one of the most muscular men I have ever seen, with curly brown hair. He was the sort of man who you would expect to see as a professional weightlifter or a boxer. But he was good looking with it, the sort of boyfriend you could cuddle up to, but who would protect you when it was needed. She was beautiful, the sort of person you expected to see in magazines and catwalks, with the voluptuous body and long blonde hair. The sort of girl who everyone else wanted to look like. As I looked at them for longer I took in more details. They both had incredibly pale skin and the bronze eyes which I had been seeing everywhere that week. I didn't want to see those eyes, because of the person they reminded me of. I had promised myself I wouldn't think about him. I unclipped my hair and ran my fingers through it nervously, putting the clip in my bag. This must be the other members of the Cullen family, the two who I hadn't met. Rosalie and Emmett. I was really unnerved by the way they were looking at me. I walked quicker than I normally did into the coffee shop and went up to the counter. I ordered a hot chocolate and caramel shortbread, and then sat down on one of the seats by the door sized windows. I was confused by the stares and could not understand why they had chosen to look at me in particular. Or were they looking at me? It could have been someone else in the centre, perhaps someone who was standing behind me. It couldn't be me.

I shrank back into the seat when they walked past the window I was next to. Emmett carried on looking forward on the way they were walking, his lips moving slightly, as if he was murmuring to Rosalie. The blonde girl, however, looked through the window, and gave me one of the dirtiest looks I have ever seen in my life. So maybe it was me. But how could this girl I had never met already hate me? It reminded me of Edward Cullen, and his reaction to me. I scowled at the air. I didn't want to think about him, and she had bought the memories of that first lesson flooding back.

"Bex, are you alright?" the voice startled me. I looked up to see Jamie standing there with my hot chocolate and caramel slice. I was such a frequent person in this particular coffee shop that all of the servers recognised me, and most of them I was on first name basis with. I realised that I was shaking slightly. I nodded as he passed me the tray.

"Yeah Jamie, I just got a bit freaked out, I thought I saw someone from my old school." I improvised the lie quickly. I didn't want to tell anyone that I had been freaked out by those staring golden eyes. It wasn't a very convincing lie though. Jamie smiled down at me sympathetically, and then walked back to the counter. I put my hands around the mug and breathed in the scent of fresh cream and chocolate. Why did the people in this strange family react so oddly around me? I didn't think that I was that repulsive, yet to her I seemed to be. I took a sip from my mug. There goes my Cullen free day, I though gloomily to myself.

I met up with Mary-Alice and Kelly at twelve, and I think that they could both see that something was wrong with me almost immediately. For the best part of an hour I had brooded on what had happened that morning, and I wasn't getting any closer to figuring out what had happened, let alone why it had happened. I had stayed in the coffee shop, even calling Kelly to come meet me there so that I didn't have to go out into town on my own again, just in case I ran into any of the Cullens. I was such a coward. Fortunately at about half eleven it got busier in town, with the normal hustle and bustle. When I met Kelly and Mary-Alice we walked up one of the sets of stairs to go to the best bakery in town, Greggs. We loaded up on baguettes, sausage rolls, donuts, and coke, and then sat down on one of the benches which were inside. It was nice to spend time with my friends after the morning's events, and pretend that nothing was wrong, I was just with a couple of mates, enjoying lunch together.

My phone rang just as I was halfway through my second donut. It was my boss, who wanted to know if I could start work early and then get paid the overtime as someone had called in sick. I agreed, partly because I wanted the extra money, but also partly because I loved my job. I taught small children how to swim at the local leisure centre, which was actually in town, as well as volunteering a few nights a week to coach older kids at the local swimming club. I said goodbye to Kelly and Mary-Alice, and then walked down to the leisure centre.


	4. Chapter 4: Not Him

Chapter four: Well that was.... interesting

Sunday was pretty much a normal boring day. I had work in the morning until ten, and then I spent the rest of the day doing college work. I had a couple of assignments which were due in that week, which I had neglected to do until that afternoon, so I decided to do them. Anything to distract me from what I had been dwelling on for the past day. I did all of my English prep work for the lessons that week. I outlined an essay on how the media affected the average person's view of the war in Vietnam in about half an hour, and then took a break to log onto my Facebook page on my laptop. I uploaded a couple of photos from our recent visit to Reading and read through a backlog of emails from a couple of friends who had just recently joined university. I read them with interest, wondering what it would be like when I was at university, which would be at the end of the year. I had already applied to Cambridge and Southampton universities, and was in the process of writing applications for Bath and Reading. It was all so close, and that kind of scared me, because I was happy where I was. Going to university meant moving away from home, away from people I had known for a large proportion of my life, right into the unknown.

I heard a crash from downstairs. Startled, I shouted down the stairs to see if everyone was alright. No one answered me. I ran and slipped down the stairs in my haste to get to whatever had happened. I walked into the living room and was stopped in my tracks. My brother was lying on the floor, blood seeping from his head; the table crushing his legs, his eyes had rolled back into his head. I choked for a second, then ran over to him and pulled the table off. Two of the legs had collapsed, pining his legs beneath it. I could see that he had fallen back and bashed his head on the floor after the table had fallen against him. He hadn't been big enough to hold it up. I choked back a sob and pulled the wireless phone from the holder. I dialled 999, and then asked for an ambulance. I gave the particular details they asked for as I held a cloth against my brother's head to try and stem the bleeding. The woman on the other side of the phone didn't seem to understand the urgency until I started crying into the phone for an ambulance. She told me one was on the way, and then I put the phone down. I was afraid to touch any part of him, even though I wanted to hold him to me and cry out. I tried to be strong. Mum and Dad had gone out a little while earlier, and so I had to call them as well, but I couldn't make myself. This had to be my fault. If I had of been downstairs then I could have caught the table. I was in charge, I was meant to be looking after him, and he had ended up bleeding on the floor. He could be dying.

I was sat in the hospital waiting area when Dale came running in. My parents were with the doctor, filling out forms to do with my brother's admittance into the hospital, and I was left sitting on my own, waiting for news. I had had to call someone, and Dale had said he would be right over. I buried my head in Dale's chest and finally let the tears start to flow. I sobbed and clung to him as he held me, rubbing my back and making soothing noises. I don't know how long we stood there as I let all my anguish flow out. I appreciated Dale's friendship even more than I ever had. He had come all the way here when I called him, to be here for me. Finally my eyes started to dry and we sat down. Dale held my hand and didn't say anything to me at all, sensing that false promises would be no good at this time.

A little while later Dale stood up and said he was going to get a coffee. He offered to get me something, but I shook my head mutely. It was about seven in the evening, and I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch time, but I didn't feel hungry. How could I be hungry? I sat there, numb, not seeing anything, not looking at anything, when someone sat down next to me. I turned, expecting to see Dale, and then recoiled slightly. It was Edward Cullen. I looked at him shocked for a few minutes as I tried to comprehend why he was sitting next to me. I came up with nothing. He looked paler than I remembered, and his eyes were a lighter colour than I thought they had been, a butterscotch colour.

"Are you alright?" he asked me. I jumped slightly, as I realised that he was talking to me. His voice was incredibly attractive, like those of Jasper and Alice. I was annoyed at myself for noticing something like that at a time like this. It took me a moment to register what he had actually said. "I'm sorry. I am Edward Cullen; I sit next to you in English Literature. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week, and I saw you here on your own. I apologise. I will leave you alone." He made to get up but I shook my head.

"No, don't go. You shouldn't apologise, I just wasn't really with it, if I am honest," I could see him taking in my puffy, tearstained face. "It's just, my brother had an accident. I am waiting to see how he is." I didn't get why I was telling this strange boy what was wrong.

"Oh, I understand. Is there anyone you want me to get, or anything? A drink perhaps?" I stared at him, dumbfounded. This was one hundred and eighty degrees from how he had treated me last time I had met him. I shook my head. Suddenly he stood up swiftly, and looked back at me. "I will leave you in peace now."

I watched him walk away and saw him passing Dale. Dale looked at Edward questioningly, but he kept facing the way he was walking. I was confused by this. It was almost as if Edward had known that Dale was coming back and was there for me. But how could he..? Dale was carrying two take away cups full of hot liquid. I smiled wanly as he placed one in my empty hands.

"It's hot chocolate. I wanted you to have something. Hey what was Edward Cullen doing talking to you?" I could hear the suspicion in his voice, Dale's protective nature coming through. He had always been like that with me. In secondary school he had always said that if anyone broke my heart then he would literally break theirs.

"It was nothing. He just recognised me from college and came to see if I was alright." Dale nodded, and then took a drink from his own Styrofoam cup. I could feel the hot chocolate warming my hands, and was grateful for that.

A doctor came out of the room my brother was in and walked towards me. I stood up, and so did Dale. He smiled at me reassuringly as I faced the doctor.

"Miss James?" I nodded. "You can see your brother now." I swallowed nervously, and then followed the doctor. Dale patted me on the arm once before sitting back down on the chair.

I walked into the room, my eyes searching for my brother immediately. He was lying on the hospital bed, his head bandaged up and his legs looking odd and misshapen underneath the bed clothes. His eyes were shut, and mine began to tear up as I saw that he was actually alright. I wanted to run over and hug him, but I stayed rooted to the spot, drinking in the image of him. I heard the door opening quietly behind me.

"I can take over here now Helen," I heard a masculine voice say to the doctor who had brung me into the room. I heard her murmur something to the man who had entered and then walk out of the door.

"Miss James?" the voice asked me. I turned around and saw a man who was easily the hottest doctor I have ever seen. He had light blonde hair, which was smoothed back, and a magnificent face. But yet again I saw the golden eyes and the pale skin. I realised that this was Doctor Cullen. It was such a coincidence that Edward's father happened to be one of the people who were looking after my brother. I nodded and looked up at him. "I am Doctor Carlisle Cullen. It's nice to meet you." I tried to smile back, but it didn't seem to come out very convincingly. He held out his hand, and I shook it, marvelling at how cold and hard it was.

Dr. Cullen walked over to the board with my brother's x-rays on, and flipped the switch on. He looked at them for a second, then smiled reassuringly back at me.

"Miss James, it looks like your brother is going to be just fine," I breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"Please, call me Bex. So, what is actually wrong with him?"

"Well there was a large cut in your brother's head, which luckily was not a fractured skull or anything like that, just a reaction to the trauma that it received. There doesn't appear to be any internal bleeding, or anything along those lines. His legs were both broken when the table fell on them, but again luckily it is only one break in each leg, and they are both clean breaks. We are going to keep your brother in overnight for observation at the very least and hopefully we will be able to get some casts fitted tomorrow." I smiled at this man who had given me so much good news. My brother was going to be okay.

The next morning I woke up in my own bed. My mother had convinced me to go home at about ten the night before when she saw me yawning. Mum had stayed at the hospital the night before, saying that she wanted to be with my brother when he woke up. I kissed his head where there was no bandage and promised to see him the night after. I looked at the alarm clock next to me and read the display. 07:12. I could tell that I wasn't going to go back to sleep, so I decided that I was going to go to college that day. If I didn't I would have moped around the house all day, making a nuisance of myself. I looked out the window to see what the weather was like, and saw the cloud covered sky. They were white clouds though, so I was cheered by that. I dressed in blue jeans, a purple sleeveless top and a black hoodie. Pulling the front strands of my hair back I twisted them up and clipped them in place, away from my face.

I was at college about an hour later, earlier than I normally would be. I wandered around the college store, not really seeing anything. I ended up picking up a whole load of chocolate for comfort food, and I ate one of the chocolate bars on the way to English lit. As distracted as I was I idly wondered f Edward would be in class today, and whether he would talk to me. I was momentarily distracted by his odd departure the day before. Why had he walked away as soon as Dale had turned up?

I walked slowly to class and sat down in my seat. I was one of the first to get there, along with Laura. I chatted to her for a few minutes about the weekend, and then unpacked my backpack. It was while I was doing this that Edward walked into the classroom. I dropped my pencil case as he walked behind me to get to his seat. I could feel my heart going faster, as if I had just been on a long run. I was angry at myself for this. I should not be like this just because of his close proximity. I didn't even know him! I bent down and retrieved my pencil case, before sitting in my seat. I could see that he sat as far away from me as possible on the small desk. I faced forward and waited for our teacher to start the lecture, aware of his presence next to me. This double period was going to be... interesting.

Kim introduced the next book we were studying. Bram Stoker's Dracula. I turned around to grin at Laura. We both had this strange fascination with vampires, and had read Dracula when we were in our last year of secondary school. As I turned back to face the front, I could see Edward stiffen in his seat. That was odd. Maybe he didn't like vampire literature. Kim lectured for about forty five minutes, which I took notes on and then set us to reading the first twenty pages of the book. I read through them quickly, and then set about writing notes about how Bram Stoker introduces the idea of magic and something dark.

It was about ten minutes later when people had finished reading and were talking to each other about the book when my neighbour moved. He turned slightly towards me.

"How is your brother Bex?" he asked me in his voice that made me want to melt into my seat right there. I looked up towards his golden eyes, confused. I liked the way that he said my name way too much.

"I'm sorry, but... how do you know my name?" I asked in a quiet voice. He looked back at me for a second, surprised.

"My sister told me about you." I nodded and then thought about his original question. I was surprised that he had remembered that it was my brother who was in hospital, when I had only mentioned it once.

"My brother is doing better, thank you for asking." A strand of my hair fell out of the clip holding it back and fell across my face.

"I'm glad. What actually happened to him? If it isn't too impertinent of me to ask." I was surprised by the question he asked. I had assumed that my problems would not have been of interest to this boy who I had not seen in weeks before last night.

"No, its fine. I was meant to be looking after my brother yesterday, but I was up in my room when it happened. Two of the table legs collapsed, and the table ended up falling on him. It broke both of his legs, and it's all my fault." I said as I put my hands to my face, struggling to hold back the tears I had repressed since I had cried in Dale's arms the night before. I asked myself why I had told this boy what I hadn't told anyone else, not even my best friend.

"I very much doubt that Bex. You couldn't have stopped that table from collapsing, and if you had tried then it could have hurt you, making you both in a worse position," I thought that I could detect a hint of anger in his voice, but I think that I might have been imagining it. I nodded once and pulled my hands away from my face.

"Why did you run off last night?" I said impulsively, trying to draw myself away from the misery I was feeling. His eyes closed momentarily, and then opened again to look deep in mine. I blushed slightly, but did not pull away from his gaze.

"I thought that your boyfriend would be able to look after you better than I could." He said finally, as if it was an effort. The word boyfriend in particular came out strained. I was stunned, and then laughed. He meant Dale!

"Dale isn't my boyfriend. He's my best friend. He has a girlfriend." I saw him visibly relax when I said that.

"So, have you read Dracula before?" Edward asked me, completely changing the direction of the conversation.


	5. Chapter 5: Edward

Chapter five: Edward

I walked out of the classroom after talking to Edward for the rest of the period about the book we were studying. He had asked me about what I thought about it, and we discussed how Bram Stoker displays vampires. Edward said that he liked this traditional view of them, while I argued that the more modern image presented by television programmes like _Being Human_ and _Moonlight_ were much more realistic. I said that if vampires existed then they would probably have had the same range of morals as humans. Not all of them would choose to drink human blood. Edward laughed and looked incredulously at me when I said this.

Our English Lit lessons continued to be like this. We discussed the book and other topics like television or books in general. When I told him about my liking for modern fantasy novels as well as more traditional classic's Edward nodded and said that a lot of the more recent fantasy novels had equal merit to the older ones. Every time he started a conversation with me the stutter in my heart became more pronounced, until I couldn't even hear him speak without getting a leaping sensation in my stomach. And each time it happened I berated myself. I should not feel like this around this strange, beautiful wonderful boy. I was not meant to be falling for this guy who I barely knew. Sure he was attractive, but there was nothing else about him that could attract me. It was just lust I tried to convince myself. Only there was so much to be attracted to. He was interesting, kind, he actually listened to what I said, he was interested in me, he seemed to care, and he remembered what I said, no matter how little the detail was. No nothing to be interested in there at all, I thought sarcastically to myself. And he was intelligent. I had always found intelligent boys attractive, because they actually talked about meaningful things.

I couldn't fool myself. I was falling for Edward Cullen big time, and I was mad at myself for that.

It was about a month since my brother's accident when I decided to go into town after college to get Laura's birthday present. It was Friday. I walked in by myself, taking the longer roadway because if I was honest it freaked me out to walk along those empty fields alone. I was happy because my brother was getting a lot better, and I wasn't really paying attention to anything, because I had my IPod on, listening to Muse and Evanescence. I was unconsciously bopping my head along to the music when a grating sound made me look up. A Double Decker bus was careening wildly along the road, bumping up onto the kerb and back down again. I stood still shocked by the fact that it was headed directly toward me. I closed my eyes and tensed up, because there was no time for me to run, nowhere for me to run that would get me away from this agent of death.

Something bashed into my side, throwing me off my feet and onto the floor. The bus crashed past, missing me by inches. I could feel someone lying on top of me, protecting my body from the bus with theirs. I could feel an arm around my head, protecting it from the crash into the ground. I opened my eyes and looked up into the frantic eyes of Edward. I was shocked by the fact that he was lying on top of me. Another thing shocked and scared me. He was lying on me, our chests pressed together, and I couldn't feel his heartbeat. It wasn't muffled by thick clothing, because he was just wearing a t-shirt and my hoodie had fallen open. It just wasn't there. I stored that in the back of my mind because he distracted me.

"Bex, Bex! Are you alright?" he asked me frantically, his breath lightly caressing my face.

"Yes," I said a bit breathlessly as I fully comprehended his body weight pressing me into the ground. He seemed to realise this the same time as I did, and got up in one smooth motion to sit next to me. His breath seemed a little uneven like mine, no doubt due to his exertions to save my life, not for the same reason as mine was. It struck me then. I hadn't seen him across the road from me. He had been nowhere near me, yet he had managed to tackle me and save me from the bus. I sat up and turned towards him. "How did you manage that?"

He knew what I was talking about, I could tell from his pained expression.

"I was on the other side of the road, and I saw the bus before you did. I managed to get across and tackle you before the bus hit you." He spoke with certainty, as if that was what had really happened. I was almost convinced, had I not seen the apprehension in his eyes. He wanted me to believe him. Therefore I knew that it was a lie. I left it though. If he had lied then it was for a good reason. I knew that much about Edward.

He stood up and looked down at me.

"We should get you to the emergency room, to see if you hurt your head when you fell." He said as he ran a hand through his hair. I watched his hand with a weird aching feeling. I wanted to run my hands through that hair. I pulled my mind away from that avenue. I needed to be reasonably coherent.

"The emergency room?" I asked, then realised what he meant." Oh, you mean A + E? There's no point in wasting their time. I'm fine." And I wasn't lying. I felt fine, well more than fine. I felt ecstatic, just at his closeness and the memories of his body on mine.

"It's not wasting their time," he said fiercely as he pulled me to my feet.

"Edward," my heart thrilled when I said his name. "Believe me. You don't know the English hospital system. If I go in there now I won't get out for hours, as they will consider me as a low risk case. I feel fine. If I start getting woozy then you can take me to the hospital, but not until then." he looked disapprovingly at me but did not argue. I pulled my iPod out of my pocket and turned it down, as it was still blaring in my one ear, and changed the song to Breaking Benjamin's Diary of Jane. I started to carry on walking towards town, but a hand caught hold of my arm and pulled me back.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked in an outraged tone. I looked up at him, angry now.

"Into town. Why do you need to know? Can't you just let me go?" my tone was angry.

"I thought you just said that I could drive you to the emergency room if you started to feel ill. How am I going to do that?"

"I don't know!" I said, exasperated. "You can come with me if you really want!" I expected him to refuse, but to my surprise he nodded. We started walking in silence.

We stayed silent the whole way into town. I wanted to talk to him, my earlier anger had evaporated, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I opened my mouth several times, but then changed my mind. I tried not to think about his non heart beat, as that would just distract me if I tried to figure out what he was while he was there.

He turned to me when we had got into the town area and spoke for the first time.

"Are you still feeling fine?" his voice with a hint of concern. I nodded and then carried on walking. He kept pace with me as I entered the main inside part of town. I walked towards my favourite bookshop, earning an inquisitive glance from Edward. I ignored it and walked to the back, towards the young adult fiction section. I knew what I was going to get, and picked it up straightaway. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. I had read it, and knew that it was the type of book that Laura would like. Then I walked over to the sci-fi/fantasy section and picked up the most recent Harry Dresden book for myself, Edward following me all the way. I walked to the counter and paid for the two.

"Who did you buy the book for?" Edward asked as we walked out of the shop. It was odd walking around town with Edward. I wanted to talk to him, but I was also comfortable to just have him near. I was stupidly happy just to have him near. I told myself that it was pathetic to feel this way about a boy. But I had two other qualities to add to my ever growing list of why he was so attractive to me, why I liked him so much. He definitely cared about what happened to me, and he saved my life. That sort of action is hard to ignore.

"Oh, it's Laura's birthday in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to get her a book. I just have to pick up a CD and then it's all sorted." He looked at me with a look that I couldn't understand for a few moments, and then turned away from me to look down the walkway.

"HMV is that way isn't it?" he said as he motioned. I nodded, wondering how he knew where it was. He had only moved in two months ago, yet he already knew his way around the large shopping centre. I shook my head slightly. Just another thing to add to the mystery of Edward Cullen. It slightly scared me how much I wanted to unfold the mystery, to get to know the real Edward. I had the feeling that I had only scratched the surface of the iceberg that Edward Cullen was.

I ended up walking around town, talking to Edward for hours. I hadn't forgotten about his non heartbeat, on the contrary it was on the forefront of my head as I tried to figure out what Edward was. I racked my brain for all of the mythical creatures I knew, because I knew by now that Edward was not human. And all the while I talked to him about normal things. He asked me questions and I answered. Nearly all of them were about me. How I ended up living in Basingstoke, where I actually lived, what it had been like in Wales, what schools I had been to in the past. Nothing was beneath Edward's interest. It felt like he wanted to know me, to know everything about me. And I told him. I told him about my relationship with Dale, with Laura, with Kelly, Kerry and Mary-Alice. I told him about my brother, my mum, my dad. It was starting to get dark outside before I looked at my phone for the time.

"Aww crap," I murmured as I saw that it was almost half past six. I would have to walk back to college to go get my car in the dark. Edward looked at me questioningly, as if he had heard my quiet curse.

"What is wrong?" he asked me in his deeply seductive voice. I closed my eyes for a second, and then took a deep breath.

"My car is at college, which means that I have to walk back to go get it." I explained as I wrote a quick text to my mum to explain that I was going to be late home. I sent it, and then looked up to see Edward looking intently down at me. The intensity in his eyes made me feel weak in the knees and sent thrills through my body.

"I can give you a lift to college, if you would like." There was a warning undercurrent in his voice, which made me think that part of him wanted me to refuse. It was a vain hope. Hmm, walking in the dark and cold or sitting in a warm car next to Edward. Hard choice. Not.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble." I said as we began walking towards the multi story car park. He rolled his eyes at that and I glared back at him. Suddenly he laughed. "Why are you laughing?" I asked self-consciously.

"Everything you say and do never ceases to amaze me," he said as he pressed the button for the lift. It opened and I walked in. Edward hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and joined me. He looked tense.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned at the sudden change from the smiling guy from outside. "Are you afraid of lifts?"

"A little bit," he said as he turned towards the panel with all the buttons for the floors. He pressed the one labelled four, and then turned to smiled at me. It looked a bit forced, but still real. I felt like swooning against the lift wall, he made me feel that elated. I was distracted from his momentarily by my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out, and saw that it was a text from Laura.

**Wat u doing in town with Edward Cullen??? you have got to tell me about it 2moz! ; D We r still meeting at 12 by BHS right? Xxxxx**

I sent back a reply quickly.

**Nosy much, eh! : P Yeah that sounds cool. C u then xxxxx.**

I pocked my phone just as the lift stopped moving and the door opened. Edward motioned for me to go first, and then walked out of the lift behind me.

We walked out into the multi story after Edward had paid for his ticket, and the car was quite near to the door. I recognised the Volvo immediately and walked towards it. I sighed when I was standing next to it. I wanted a car like that!

"What's wrong?" Edward asked me as I realised that I had come to a stop in front of the passenger seat door. I shook my head.

"Oh, nothing. It's just.... I like your car," I said as I stepped aside and looked at the front of the car. It was so... pretty! I liked good looking cars. I heard Edward laugh beside me as I stepped back in front of the door and reached for the door handle. Edward got there first and pulled it open for me. I smiled at him and then got in. Another quality to add to the list. He was a gentleman, a rare thing in this day and age.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as he negotiated his way out of the car park, pushing the ticket into the machine to open the road block. Then he turned to me slightly, not even bothering to keep his eyes on the road.

"So, why do you like my car?" he asked as he accelerated out of the slip lane onto the dual carriage way. I looked at the leather seats and the impressive dial on the dashboard. What was there not to like about this car?

"It looks great, and it goes fast. I like cars like this which aren't too flashy, but are still brilliant to drive. I'd love a car like this, but I have to deal with a beat up Ford Fiesta, because it was the best I could get for the money I had." I ran one hand across the dashboard and sighed. Edward laughed quietly, and I looked up at him questioningly.

"So I take it you like cars then?" I nodded, and then he continued. "What sort of car would you see as flashy then?"

"Well, I can't really give you an example of a normal person's car, but I think Ferrari is overrated and over the top. When you start selling a matching fragrance to your car then you know you have gone over the top with merchandising. I mean the cars are decent, I suppose, but they have over used the franchise. Aston Martin, however, is a totally different story." My mind wandered then. I would probably kill for an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. That was the sort of car that would make me cry if I ever even sat in it, it was that unattainable.

"Which Aston Martin?" there was a strange undercurrent in his voice, a kind of anticipation, surprise and interest. I didn't even have to think about my answer.

"V12 Vanquish," I said shortly as I looked up to study his face. There was wonderment there, and something else I couldn't identify. Whatever it was, it had made his eyes warm, like liquid gold. I got slightly self conscious then. "Edward, what?"

"It's nothing." He turned to look back at the road, and I did too. I was surprised to see that we were turning into the student car park. He quickly and easily manoeuvred into the space next to my car. I looked up at him in surprise. How had he known that this was my car? I opened the car door, and got out, hitting my head on the top of the doorframe. My hands flew to the spot on my head, and I suppressed a curse. It didn't hurt that much, I'd had worse injuries, but suddenly Edward was standing next to me, gently moving my hands from my head. This was the first time he had ever touched me, other than when he had saved my life, but that didn't count. His touch was cold, and it soothed the pain in my head. I wanted him to keep his hands there, but he dropped them was soon as he realised that there wasn't a bump there.

"Bex, are you alright? I seem to be asking you that question a lot today." I nodded and stood up properly. He looked concerned "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm just a walking accident zone. Don't worry." I was struck by something then. I wasn't going to be seeing him for two whole days. "I'll see you on Monday, then?" I asked, uncertain of what he would say. He nodded and smiled his crooked smile. I walked towards my car and got unsteadily into the driver's seat. Then it hit me. The mythical creature I had been looking for.

Vampire.


	6. Chapter 6: Vampire

Chapter Six: Vampire

I was shaking as I walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on. It all made sense to me now. The non heartbeat, the changing colour eyes, the strange speed, the pale skin and eye colour which all of the Cullen's had in common, the words which sounded like they belonged in another time, the fact that he seemed to know what everyone, but me was thinking. Edward was a vampire. Not your typical run of the mill vampire, with darkness and not being able to go out in the day. I accepted that. There were so many different interpretations of the vampire in literature and in popular culture, why did the traditional view of the vampire have to be right? I stepped into the warm shower and sat down on the floor, still shaking. So where did that leave us? Should I ignore him? I didn't know his eating habits at all; he could be feeding on people for all I knew. But the rational part of my mind rejected that. The Cullen's had been in town for about two months, and no strange disappearances or deaths had been reported. There were seven vampires, and that meant that a lot of blood was needed to satiate their thirst. And I knew that they were, because their eyes changed colour. I figured that was their eyes did with when they drank. They could be drinking pig's blood from the butcher, like _Angel,_ or drinking donated blood from a hospital. Carlisle was a doctor; he could get his hands on lots of blood if he wanted to. I refused to think that Edward could be a monster, because that didn't fit with the picture of his character I had been building. I couldn't ignore him; I was too infatuated with him. As I thought about it more I realised that I didn't care that he was inhuman. I didn't care that he was a vampire. The only thing I had been bothered about was how he fed. And I had figured that out. I realised that I wanted to talk to him about all of this. I had stopped shaking, and was starting to enjoy the shower. Nothing had to change.

I met Laura at 12 by BHS as we had agreed, and started walking towards Topshop. We were chatting about normal teenage girl things: college, coursework, and moaning a bit. I listened to Laura moaning about her Art teacher, who had lost half of her work which was meant to be graded as part of her final assessment, saying monosyllabic words every so often so that she knew that I was actually listening. But part of my mind was far away from the conversation. I was thinking about Edward. The night before I had accepted the vampire as part of him, and I was thinking about him in general. His crooked smiled that sent my heart racing. His angelic face, with those golden eyes looking down on me. Everything. I realised that I wasn't falling for Edward. I loved him. how had that happened? How had I fallen in love with this boy who I barely knew?

We walked into Topshop and I looked without interest at the tops and skirts. Laura picked up a new top, a black and purple one, which had straps which crossed over the back. It looked great on her, and she decided to buy it for going to liquid on Monday. She invited me, saying that a group of our friends were going and I agreed, eager to spend time with my friends who I felt that I had been neglecting recently. There was nothing there that really caught my eye though, until I saw something on the shelf in Topman, the man's section of the shop. It was a trilby hat, the sort I always wanted to buy, but hadn't had the courage or the money up until now. I pulled Laura over to it and picked up a black one. I tried it on, and then turned back to look at her.

"What do you think? I asked nervously.

"That looks good on you. You should buy it!" she said enthusiastically. I smiled at her, and then took it off my head. We walked to the counter with our respective purchases and bought them.

As we walked out of the shop I saw Edward and Alice walking towards us. I smiled at them, and waved hello, not really expecting them to stop and talk to us. I couldn't help hoping, because I wanted to hear Edward's voice. So I was surprised when they stopped in front of us.

"Hello Bex and... Laura?" Edward said. Laura nodded, dumb struck. I wasn't much more coherent if I was honest. His voice made me want to melt, and it raised my pulse.

"Hi Edward, Hi Alice," I said as I looked towards Alice. She looked heartbreakingly beautiful today, in a blue sleeveless top, denim shorts, leggings and flat boots, with her short black hair flicking out at the bottom. I made myself notice what Edward was wearing as well. Normally I was so distracted by his face that I didn't see what he was wearing. Today he wore a brown V necked t-shirt with dark jeans. It stretched over the muscles in his stomach, making them look more pronounced.

"Hello Bex, what have you bought?" Alice asked me, interrupting my admiration of Edward's body. Shyly I pulled the hat out of the bag, and showed her. "Put it on then." Typical Alice enthusiasm about shopping. I put it on and looked only at her, making sure that I didn't look at Edward.

"I love it!" Alice said, bubbling with enthusiasm. I smiled gratefully at her. "It totally suits you!"

"It looks good," I looked up when Edward said this to me and smiled appreciatively at him. I liked to be complimented by him. It made me feel pretty and good about myself.

We parted after that, and me and Laura carried on towards Mad House. I could almost hear what she was going to say before she did.

"What was that?" she said in amazement. She hadn't said a word while Edward and Alice had been with us.

"What do you mean? I thought that was pretty normal," I said teasing her a bit. I knew that everyone else thought that the Cullen's were odd and standoffish and I understood why. They made people feel uncomfortable, attracting and repulsing them in equal parts.

"I saw you in town with Edward Cullen yesterday? What was that about?" she wasn't going to let it go. She had meant what she had said in her text yesterday, and I had avoided the questions for as long as I could.

"He pulled me out of the way of a bus yesterday, and then walked into town with me to make sure that I was okay. That was it." I hoped that those details would have been enough to put her off, but she was shocked, probably by the bus bit. It was just as well that I didn't tell her the rest of what happened – how I probably would have died if he hadn't flown across the road to save me.

"Wait. He saved you from a _bus_!" she said as she looked at me sceptically. I nodded and she thought for a moment. "Wait a minute Bex. Do you like him? I mean like him like him?"

"Yes I do. More than I probably should." I sighed. Definitely more than I should.

"Does he like you?" She asked me.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

I woke up early the next day and decided to go see Kerry, to see if she wanted to hang out. It was only a short walk through a couple of alleys and along the road way for a bit. I wasn't stressed by it though, because it was Oakley. It's not as if anything ever happened here. I left a not for mum, telling her where I was going, then left the house. I walked slowly, knowing that Kerry probably wouldn't be awake yet. Normally I would walk quickly through the alleyways, because as much as I was blasé about the fact that nothing ever happened in Oakley, I still got freaked out by the darkness and cold.

This affected me more than normal today. Every noise I heard I jumped, every twig I stepped on made my heart go racing. I tried to calm myself down, telling myself off for letting my over active imagination get the best of me. I took a few deep breaths and then carried on. The silence was eerie, every movement I made echoed along the long alley.

Then I heard noises behind me and I twisted around quickly. My ankle collapsed as I did this, sending me sprawling onto the floor. I looked up and saw a man and a woman standing at the end of the alley. The man walked slowly towards me, as if he was sizing me up. It scared me.

"Do you want a hand up?" his voice was deep and gravelly, and it sent pulses of adrenaline through my body. He sounded like he would be a danger to me. I shook my head and got up awkwardly, nursing my twisted ankle. I started to walk away, but a hand caught me.

"Stay a while," the woman said as she caught up to us. She smiled, but it wasn't in a benevolent way. I was in a 'I want to hurt you now' way. "Got a fag?"

"Nno, I don't smoke," I said, trying to stop my voice from shaking.

"I bet she's got money though," the man said to the woman. "let's have a look."

He let go of my arm and tried to shove his hand in my pocket. I lashed out, hitting his arm away from me.

"Don't be like that poppet." The malevolence in his voice was clear. "This won't hurt a bit."

That was the final straw for me. I didn't like hurting people, but five years of karate doesn't leave you defenceless in situations like this. I hooked one leg and caught my heel in the back of his knee, yanking it forward as I pushed his shoulder back. He wasn't prepared for that, and fell with a crash on to the floor. The woman snarled and stepped forward to try and punch me, but I batted her fist to the side and struck out at her nose with my elbow. I kicked her in the chest with a side kick, then started running. I ran wildly, not knowing where I was going, only knowing that I wanted to get out of the alley. I turned around the corner and saw the end of the alley heading out onto a road. A road meant houses which meant people. With my head down I didn't see where I was running and went head first into someone. They caught me as I started to fall to the floor. I looked up, scared that it was one of my attackers. It was Edward.

I almost fell limp when I saw him, my relief was that intense. Tears began streaming down my face.

"Bex are you alright? What's wrong?" I could hear the concern in his voice, but couldn't respond. I was shell shocked that something like that had just happened in my home village, to me. I wasn't meant to be a victim. "Bex, seriously. What happened?"

I told him what happened the best I could, but a lot of it was covered by tears and my sobbing. I think he understood what had happened to me though, especially when I heard his reaction.

"Those..." it was like he couldn't think up a word which was bad enough for them. He was still holding me up at that point, and I realised that he was about to do something when he set my back on my feet. He looked towards the way I had come from, as if he was going to go after them. I grabbed hold of his arm without thinking.

"Please don't leave me Edward. I don't want to be on my own again." I sobbed as I clutched at his arm. What if they found me before he came anywhere near them. I didn't want to be left on my own, like I was when they came. He shook off my arm and began walking away from me, closer to the turning where he would be out of my sight. I said the first thing which came into my head, thoughtless of the possible consequences. I looked at the floor as I whispered at him.

"I know what you are. A vampire. and I don't care!"


	7. Chapter 7: Acceptance

Chapter Seven: acceptance

"You mean you knew that I didn't have a heartbeat when I saved you on Friday, and yet you spent that whole evening with me?" his voice was hard and incredulous at the same time. I was still refusing to look in his eyes. I nodded. I had explained what I knew, and how I knew.

"It took me a while to figure it out, but when I got into my car I knew. I guess I was purposefully repressing it in my head, because I have had a fascination with vampires since I was 11 years old. And then all the things I had noticed about you made sense."

"And when you saw me and Alice yesterday, you still acted normal. Why didn't you shy away from us?" he kept on asking me the questions I didn't want to answer. Not because I didn't know the reasons why, or because I had been acting, but because it would reveal how I felt about him, and I didn't want to drive him away. When I didn't answer that he took hold of my chin and lifted it gently up to look in his eyes. "Bex I need to know why," he said almost desperately.

"Because I am in love with you," I closed my eyes and a tear fell from it. Now he would run away. There was nothing about me that could have possible interested him. He would run screaming at the thought that I loved him. "That's why it doesn't matter to me what you are."

"Well that, that changes things," he said as he let go of me. I hear it coming in his voice, in his words. I stepped back, prepared to run away from him if I started sobbing. My eyes were still closed.

"Bex," I heard him breathe. "You shouldn't love me. I'm wrong for you." There it was. He wanted to let me down easily.

"Just forget I ever said anything Edward. Just forget me, please," I said as I turned and opened my eyes. If I could get out of the park then I could run home and cry in my bed.

"Why would I want to do that Bex? I could never even entertain the thought of forgetting you. My life seems to be all about you now." I refused to turn around, refused to listen to the words that he couldn't mean. He was just trying to make me feel better.

I felt his cool hesitant touch on my face as he stroked my cheek gently. It sent shockwaves through my system, even through the pain and tears; I still reacted to his touch.

"Bex, please listen to me. I care for you, more than you can ever know, but I am dangerous to you, more so than anyone else. I would never want to hurt you. Please, walk away from me now, before I can harm you," his voice was desperate and pleading. I turned around to look him in the eyes, to see if he was lying. I could see tenderness and pain in his eyes, as if he didn't want to say what he was saying, but that he felt he had to, to keep me safe. I didn't want to be safe. I wanted to be with him.

"What do you mean, more dangerous to me?" I asked, sidestepping his request.

"Every human smells different to each of my kind, some more appealing, others less so. To me you are the most appealing human I have ever smelt. It's like a drug to me, like I am hooked on the smell of you and want to taste. But I can't. My family, we're not like others of our kind. We drink animal blood instead of human. And I would never want to hurt you." I could hear the sincerity in his voice and the undercurrent of pain. I understood then. Every second he spent with me caused him pain as he tried to resist the lure of my blood. I should run away now, stop causing him pain, stop risking my own life. But I couldn't.

"Edward. I can't leave. I don't want to leave you. I want to be with you more than anything I have ever wanted in my life. It's like I can't breathe properly when you are not around," I was embarrassed as I said this. I was revealing exactly how infatuated I was with him. His hand hadn't moved from my face.

"Well, it looks like neither of us is going anywhere. And I like that idea way too much." Edward said as he took hold of my hand and led me towards the end of the alley way.

I spent the rest of that day with Edward, sitting in one of the big trees in the park. We talked for the whole time, sometimes him asking questions, other times me. He wanted to know about me, and I wanted to know about him. His questions were a bit more commonplace though. He asked about my life, my likes, my dislikes, while I asked about those things and his vampiric nature. I wanted to know all about the truths and the myths surrounding vampires. He told me about his family, and how he was able to read minds – just like I had thought. He told me that Alice could see into the future, but that it was affected by the decisions which people made, and that Jasper could influence the emotions surrounding him. We both laughed when he said that that first day in English he had tried to make me believe whatever was furthest from the truth when it came to vampires. I felt kind of smug, knowing that I had been right about vampires all along. I wanted to spend all of my time with him, but as it got darker I knew that my mum would be getting worried. We walked hand in hand back to my house, where Edward said goodbye to me. He lightly caressed my face before he disappeared behind the hedge separating my house from the next one. I was smiling hugely as I let myself in through the front door.

"What are you doing tonight?" Edward asked me as we sat down in English. I looked up at him, and was not prepared for the shock of his golden eyes staring down at me. I wanted to swoon.

"Ummm, we are going to liquids, one of the clubs in town for a party," I said as I looked down at the book in front of me.

"Who is we?" he asked gently as he hesitantly touched my hand. I looked up again and was staggered by the intensity in his gaze.

"I am going with Dale, his girlfriend, Laura, Kerry, Kelly and their boyfriends. I'm a bit of a 9th wheel really," I said sadly as I thought of that night. It would be fine until the slow songs came on, when everyone would get up to dance with their partner and I would be left sitting there on my own. On the spur of the moment I touched Edward's hand and smiled up at him. "You could come, if you want."

He smiled back down at me, and I felt my heartbeat stutter yet again. He heard that, and his smile became even more pronounced.

"I am not sure. I am meant to be doing something with my family, but I might be able to get out of it, I'd prefer to be with you. Who knows what could happen to you on your own? What time are you going to be there?" I hadn't expected him to even think of saying he might be able to go, so it took me a while to register he was asking me for a time.

"We are going to be there from seven, so if you wanted we could meet up at any time after that."

"Seven," he murmured, then gave me a crooked smile, one which looked damn sexy on him. The rest of the lesson passed in a blur. I was surprised when Kim said we could all go.

The rest of my day passed with nothing of interest happening. I was consumed with thoughts of Edward. He had said that he might be able to get out of spending time with his family. He had said that he would prefer spending the time with me. I felt elated, on top of the world. For the whole day people commented that I looked way too happy, that I was glowing. And all of this because he had said that he might be able to. That was quite sad. But I couldn't help myself.

I got home at about four and then grabbed myself a bowl of cereal. Laura and her boyfriend were picking me up at half six, so I had to be ready by then. I stepped into the showers, vigorously washing my hair and using conditioner. I shaved my legs, and then wallowed in the heat for a little bit. I got out once the hot water started running out, because I knew my mum would be annoyed if she had no hot water for her shower later on.

I let my hair start to drip dry as I stood in my dressing gown in front of my open wardrobe, looking at all the clothes. I had no idea what I was going to wear. I pulled out a couple of tops, and then replaced them when I decided that they weren't right. Then I found my newest top which Dale had convinced me to buy last time we were in town. It was a halter next top, with black blue and white patterned on it in a pretty was. I then pulled out one of my pairs of skinny low rise jeans. I put the whole outfit on, and to my surprise I actually thought that I looked good for once. I sat down and started drying my hair.

I was ready by six, having dried my hair, and put on eye liner, mascara and lip gloss. I never put on much make up, even when I was going out, because I didn't like the feel of gloop on my face. And I didn't want to look orange like some girls did when they wore make up. I sat down with a book to wait for Laura and Jackson.

I heard knocking on the door, and my mother going to see who it was, she shouted up the stairs to me to tell me that it was Laura. I picked up my phone and purse, shoving them into my pockets as I did so. On an impulse I picked up my new hat and put it on my head, checking it looked alright in the mirror before I walked downstairs.

Laura looked awesome. She was wearing the top which she had bought on Saturday and a pair of black jeans which sparkled when light hit them. I pulled on my flat black boots and we headed out of the door. We got in to Jackson's Honda Accord and he pulled away from the house.

"Hey Bex, I like the hat," Jackson said as he looked in the rear view mirror. I liked Jackson. He was a nice guy, and was crazy about Laura. He treated her really well as well, and he was fairly attractive. He had medium length blonde hair which stood out from his head in all directions, and blue eyes. he was a lot taller than me and Laura, about 6 foot 3.


	8. Chapter 8: Party

Chapter Eight: Party

We got to liquids at about seven, and Jackson dropped the car into the nearby car park. Neither he nor I was drinking that night, so it looked like we were going to be the ones giving lifts home if people needed it. Dale, Leanne, Kerry and her boyfriend Taylor were all getting a taxi together and Kelly and her boyfriend Mitchell were walking back to his place, which was right next to town, though, so I didn't think that it would be necessary.

We met up with everyone a few minutes later and walked into the club. Leanne was the only one of us who was asked for ID by the bouncers, which considering that she was the oldest of all of us was quite amusing. The music was blaring out of the speakers, playing **Up** by **The Saturdays.** We walked in, the girls already bopping to the music.

We grabbed a table to put our coats on and drinks. Jackson ordered the first round of drinks, with most of us taking soft drinks. Then, without even saying anything to each other we all walked out to the dance floor. The boys stayed by the table, as they normally did, but I knew from personal experience that it wouldn't take much to convince them all to get up. The dance floor was full of people dancing together, girls and guys all enjoying the music and bit of time to be carefree and let loose.

Our group of girls made a kind of circle and started dancing, jumping up and down in time with the music. **Dance, Dance** by **Fall Out Boy** came on and the boys came to the floor.

**Dance, dance**

**Were falling apart to her time**

**Dance, dance **

**These are the lies you love to lead**

**This, this is the way we love **

**If they knew **

**Oh misery of me**

I grinned. This was why I liked going out with friends, to have fun and dance together. Throwing our arms up in the air we were jumping up and down in fierce abandonment. None of us had to be ourselves tonight. **Something kinda ooh by Girls Aloud.**

**Something kinda ooh**

**Jumping on my tutu**

**Something inside of me**

**Wants a part of you**

**Something kinda ooh**

**Makes my heart go boom boom**

Then a slow song came on, **Carry You Home by James Blunt**, and I went to sit down on our table, on my own, staring out at the pairs of slow moving bodies. Around me I could see other girls and boys, all separate, looking like they were in the same situation as me. Sighing I popped my can of coke and took a drink. I wondered what Edward was doing, whether he had actually thought of coming tonight, whether he had even tried to come. That was the first time I had thought of Edward that night.

**As strong as you are**

**Tender you know, **

**I'm watching you breathing for the last time **

**Strong is you heart **

**But when it is quiet**

**I know what it means and**

**I'll carry you home**

"What are you doing here on your own?" I heard a voice breathing in my ear. Edward. I turned around and smiled up at him.

"Edward, you came!" I was so happy at that moment. He smiled his crooked smile back at me and held out his hand. I took it, and let him help me stand up, while looking at what he was wearing. Dark black jeans which were tight and well fitting and a plain white shirt which was open at the collar. There was no way that this god like boy could be here for me. And yet he was. He led me slowly to the dance floor, and then put his one arm around me, while still holding my one hand. We revolved in a circle in silence, and I drank in his unique scent.

"What made you decide that you wanted to come then? And how did you get out of your family thing?" I asked him as I looked up into his golden eyes, which were soft and liquid. I literally melted in his arms. It seemed so much easier for him to be near me now, compared to before. I mean, here we were dancing together, bodies pressed closely together, when before he had kept as much distance between the two of us as possible on our desk in English.

"Well, I didn't completely get out of it. Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie are here. They thought it sounded fun." I looked up at him startled for a few moments. I hadn't forgotten the last time I had seen Rosalie. I didn't think that this would be the sort of place that they would hang out, among teenagers, having to act normal. I hadn't expected Edward to come, let alone the rest of them. "and I decided that I wanted to come as soon as you said you were going to be here."

How did he make a simple statement like that sound so romantic? Every word he said to me made me feel so special, like he had chosen me for a reason.

"Thank you," I said simply as I danced with him, in his arms.

"You know I thought that I was going to be here on my own for the whole night, without a date. Not that I think you are here as my date," I trailed off, getting awkward. He smiled tenderly down at me.

"I am here as your date." Those words made me glow; made my day worthwhile. He was here for me. He wanted me. He was here as my date! I looked around a little bit, at the other couples on the dance floor. It was so easy to get caught up with Edward; I constantly forgot that there were other people around. I could see Laura resting her head on Jackson's chest, closed eyes. I could see Dale and Leanne looking into each other's eyes. Then he looked up at me and Edward, and I could see anger in his eyes. I couldn't bear to see that and buried my head in Edward's chest. I thought I could hear a faint growl coming from him.

The song ended and **Put your hands up** came onto the music system. We stayed standing there for a few moments, before Edward led me back to the table I had been sat at. I hadn't looked up from the floor once since I had seen Dale's face. I felt a hand gripping the top of my arm to tightly and heard Edward's hiss at the same time. His hand tightened on mine. I looked up to see Dale's face contorted in fury as he pulled my arm, pulled me away from Edward.

"Dale, get off, you're hurting me!" I cried out as I pulled my arm away from him.

"I need to talk to you!" his voice was full of anger. I glared back at him.

"What do you want? You can say it here!" I had never seen this side of Dale before. It scared me, but also made me react in anger. This had nothing to do with him. This was way over protective.

"Right. I'll say it here. What the hell are you doing? You barely know this guy, and you're dancing with him and holding his hand. What if he is some kind of sick rapist who is just trying to build up your confidence and then get you alone?" he spat the word violently at both of us. I could feel Edward tensing up at my side and gripped his hand as hard as I could. I could deal with this on my own, I told myself, though I was breaking on the inside. I couldn't lose Dale, but Edward..... How was I meant to deal with this? I couldn't tell him anything; tell him that I was in love with Edward. He would think I was going over the top and would start trying to 'protect me from myself'. Here was the protectiveness in action which I had treasured in the past.

"Dale, please don't go there. I know Edward, and how is it any of your business what I do in my private life. You never listen to any of the advice I give you, never bother when I worry and get scared about you. No you still go out and get drunk in places where you could get hurt, in places where _you_ could get raped. But that is okay, because it is you. But when I finally find someone you come over, all self righteous and say that I am endangering myself. How hypocritical is that?" I almost screamed at him as tears started to stream down my face. I pulled my hand away from Edward's and ran toward the girl's bathroom. I couldn't deal with this. I'd never had to before, and now dale was trying to make me chose between him and Edward, effectively.

I locked myself into one of the cubicles and sat down, letting the tears fall.

"Bex?" I heard a timid voice saying. It was Laura. I grabbed a piece of tissue and wiped my eyes, desperately trying to stop the tears. "Bex, I really think you should come out here. It looks like Dale and Edward are having a confrontation."

"What!" I almost screamed as I struggled to unlock the door. It was so typical. I wanted to be on my own to cry and deal with this in my own way, but they were messing it up with their male need for confrontation and violence. I walked out, grabbing Laura's hand along the way, making sure she knew I needed her to be there during this. She tried to smile reassuringly at me, but it was too forced, like she had some sort of personal stake in this. As we got out I could see that she did. Edward and Dale were facing each other, in the middle of a circle of people. Edward had Emmett and Jasper flanking him, while Dale had Taylor, Mitchell and Jackson around him. Not that that extra person would help if it actually did come to a fight. I could see that Dale was saying something angrily to Edward, while he stood there, looking across at him, his face a mask. I couldn't quite hear what was being said.

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**I would really love to hear what you think about how this story is going, and if you think that i should carry on!**

**Landiana**


	9. Chapter 9: Confrontation

Chapter Nine: confrontation

I was really mad. Well more than mad. First Dale had to go and be an idiot over Edward, and then Edward had to get into some sort of stupid confrontation. This was the perfect way to ruin my night if that was what they were trying to do. Yes, I was most definitely mad and angry. I was upset as well. How had I got myself into a mess like this? My best friend and my... Edward were fighting, and all because my best friend was being an idiotic prat. I walked right up to the pair of them and stood in the middle of them, and hand on each of their chests to keep them as far away from each other as possible.

"What the hell do the two of you think you are doing?" I shouted, glaring at both of them. I looked closely at Dale, and saw that he was slightly drunk. Edward had a blank face, but his eyes were intense. I tried to warn him with my eyes not to do something rash and stupid.

"I am trying to sort this idiot here out." Dale said violently. "He doesn't seem to get that he should be staying away from you."

"Why Dale?" I asked him quietly.

"Because he could hurt you!"

"I would never hurt her." those softly spoken emotional words were the first I heard him say in this argument. He was looking a lot better than Dale to the crowd around us. He was calm and composed while Dale was almost spitting with anger. Only Edward's hard eyes betrayed how angry he was.

"So you say. None of us know who you are," Dale's voice was getting louder with every argument he said.

"That is enough! If this is still upsetting you then we can talk in the morning. But you need to sober up. This is over!" I enunciated the last three words as heavily as I could. I saw Jackson nodding behind Dale, and took hold of Dale's arm. Mitchell, Jackson and Taylor pulled Dale out of the circle, towards the men's bathroom. I turned and grabbed Edward's arm. "You need to come with me!"

Edward came quite willingly with me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice and Rosalie grouping together with Jasper and Emmett. I couldn't care less what they were talking about at that point, because I was concerned with what I was going to say to Edward. I led him out of the club, into the floodlit area outside. Dragging him further away so that the security guards wouldn't hear, I turned around to face him. I think that he could see that I was mad, even through my dried on tears.

"What were you doing there Edward? Because I am having trouble comprehending it." He looked down at me for a few moments, before taking hold of my balled up fists and gently smoothed them out.

"You couldn't hear what he was thinking about you. Such derogatory things about your intelligence and you in general. I couldn't stand it!" his voice was intense as he looked down at our hands.

"He is drunk! And he was taking protection to an absurd level. You should have ignored it and walked away. What would you have done if punches had started being thrown? You could have hurt someone. You could have been exposed, and then you would have had to move away and I would never see you again!" my voice started hitching as I thought about him leaving me. He let go of my hands and gathered me into his arms. I threw my arms around him recklessly and held him tight to me. "I can't lose you Edward. Please don't put me through that again."

"I'm sorry Bex. It was thoughtless of me to get into something like that. I didn't think of the consequences." His voice sounded tortured, so I lifted my face from his chest and looked up at him. his eyes were tight with emotion. I buried my face into his chest, breathing him in.

"That's okay Edward. I forgive you. Please don't dwell on it."

"Do you want to go back in?" he asked me, although he didn't let go of me. I shook my head, then realised that he couldn't actually see it.

"I don't think that I can deal with that atmosphere again. And I don't want to see Dale again, or I might end up hitting him again." I felt vibrations running through Edward as he laughed.

"We should keep you away from temptation then. Although that would be interesting to see." I looked up to see him smirking down at me.

"I need to go and tell Laura that I am going." He nodded and let go of me reluctantly. I smiled at that and took hold of his hand. Alice met us near the door, handing Edward a pair of or car keys.

"I saw that you would be going, and thought that I would bring you the keys." She said in her pixie voice. She looked beautiful, as normal, today wearing a red strapless top and black trousers. "Rosalie is furious, Edward." He sighed and looked down at our entwined hands.

"I guess that she would be." He said, as if he was resigned to that. I guessed that he was used to Rosalie disapproving of what he did.

"She's going to be worse when she finds out the whole truth, you know," Alice said conversationally as she looked at what I was wearing. I was startled by what she said. Only Alice and Edward knew that I knew that I knew, apparently. "I like what you are wearing, Bex. The hat looks really great!"

"Alice, I knew exactly how she is going to react. I just have to be somewhere away from breakable objects when I tell her. I have to tell the whole family sometime." I looked up at him, startled again. He rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. Strangely it soothed me. I liked how it felt, holding his hand.

"I have to go tell Laura, and then we can go. Do you want to wait here Edward?" I asked him reluctantly. I didn't want to let go of his hand, but I would understand if he wanted to stay out of Rosalie's way. He shook his head and tightened his grip in my hand slightly.

We walked back in and I scanned the room. Laura was sat at our table, looking around as if she was concerned. I could see all of the other girls on the dance floor together, but couldn't see any of the boys. We walked straight over Laura as Alice waved goodbye and went to stand with Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett were dancing together towards the edge of the dance floor, the rest of the groups giving them a wide berth unconsciously. Laura looked up as we got next to the table, smiling gratefully. She walked to me and hugged me.

"I'm so sorry Bex. Are you alright?" she asked concerned as she let go of me.

"I'm fine now Laura. Listen, I really don't feel like staying here now. I'm gonna head home."

"Do you want Jackson to give you a lift back?" she asked tentatively as she looked at my hand entwined with Edward's.

"That's alright Laura. I will get Bex home," Edward said before I could say anything. I laughed as I looked at Laura's face. She was dazzled by the fact that he had even talked to her.

"See you tomorrow Laura."

I walked with Edward to his car, holding his hand tightly. The events of that night had made me realise something. We were going to have to figure out what we were to each other, at least for the public. I didn't even know what we were. I couldn't have gone up to Dale and said, I love him and want to be with him for the rest of my life, but I only realised this two weeks ago, which happened to be two months after we first met. This may be true, but my world didn't normally work like that. People accepted casual sex more than they did young love. I closed my eyes as I tried to figure out what I was going to say to everyone the next day. They had seen me and Edward together that night, but that would have meant nothing to them. We had danced together, and held hands, but that was tame compared to what my friends were out doing most nights. They would want to know what was between me and Edward, and I didn't have answers for them.

He held the door open. I think that he had noticed my absent mindedness and did not want to interrupt whatever I was thinking. But the look in his eyes scared me. It was like he was thinking about bad things, bad things for him and me. I sat in the car, and shivered from the cold leather on my shoulders and back. Edward noticed this, as he noticed everything I did.

"Here, you must be freezing," he said as he passed me his black leather jacket. I shrugged it on gratefully.

"Edward," I said, turning to him and putting my hands on his. "I need to talk to you about something."

His eyes filled with pain for one inexplicable moment, then turned hard.

"What is it Bex?" his voice was hard, and that hurt. It was like he had already made a decision which would affect and hurt me.


	10. Chapter 10: One Long Night

Chapter Ten: One Long Night

"Edward I don't know how to put this. Tonight I realised something. I've been so obsessed with you, with my feelings and I didn't think of the rest of my world. And the rest of my world will want reasonable explanations. I guess what I am trying to ask is; what do we tell everyone? Are we dating? What are we?" He visibly relaxed at this and turned his hands over to grip mine. "I mean, it's just my friends won't really accept that I am in love with you after knowing you for the time I have."

"What you want to ask is if we are actually dating," he said, obviously amused as he saw through my rambling to the heart of the point. I nodded, looking straight at his eyes. "Yes. I think what we are constitutes as boyfriend and girlfriend. That is, if you want to be my girlfriend."

That was a no brainer.

"Of course I do Edward."

"Well then, we just tell them that we are dating, and started to on the weekend. They don't have to know the details. They will have to know that I will rarely let you out of my sight though. They should be prepared for that." I laughed at the end of that, while my mind was soaring. Me, Rebecca James, was with Edward Cullen! It was the sort of thing you could hear as _He _is going out with _her_! But I didn't care. I didn't care that he was so much more beautiful than me. He saw something in me, and wanted me, and that was what I cared about.

"One question. You looked upset when I said I wanted to talk to you. Why?" he looked at me startled for a moment, as if he hadn't thought that I had noticed that.

"You are going to laugh. I thought that what had happened tonight had made you realise that you couldn't be with me in your world, and was going to break up with me." my mouth fell open at that, and he was the one who ended up laughing.

"_Me _break up with _you_??" I said incredulously. "Edward that is the silliest thing I have heard in this whole stupid night. I could never break up with you."

Edward stopped the car outside my house and looked towards me as I didn't get out. I smiled shyly at the intensity in his gaze. I didn't let go of the hand which had held mine throughout the journey. We sat there in silence for a few moments.

"Are you going to go inside?" he asked me curiously.

"I don't really want to, but I probably should. You will be in college tomorrow, right?" I asked him, suddenly bizarrely worried.

"Of course I will." I took on last long look into his eyes then gently pulled my hand away from his stone cold grip. I had to make myself notice things like that now, because it felt normal to me now. He raised the hand which had been holding mine to my face and stroked it gently, sending tingles through me. As I opened the door I basically fell out, I was that affected by that simple touch. I looked back to glare at Edward, as if to dare him to laugh at my insane inability to move without hurting myself. He was strong enough to keep his lips tightly pressed together, although I could see the hint of a smile in them.

"See you tomorrow Edward," I said as I closed the door and he rolled down the window.

"Sleep well, Bex." Those words made me giddy. I walked down the slope to the house and knocked on the front door. As my brother opened the door Edward smoothly pulled away from the kerb and executed a perfect 3 point turn to get out of the cul-de-sac. My brother looked curiously at me as I walked past him.

"Who was that? Because it wasn't Jackson because I know his car, and Dale doesn't have a car so it couldn't have been him, but I know it was a boy. Who was it Bex?" my brother was talking, and I didn't think that he had taken a breath in the whole sentence. I grinned down at him.

"That was Edward."

"Ohh, who is Edward? Is he your boyfriend?" he asked, trying to embarrass me, as if it was something to be ashamed of. Typical ten year old boy with the whole "eww girls" mentality. I ruffled his hair.

"yes he is," I said and the words sent a thrill through me. Boyfriend. A word which was a bit too commonplace for Edward, and my feelings for him. but it worked. "Now shouldn't you be in bed, it's almost half eight!"

He ran up the stairs as my mother came out of the study. She smiled up the stairs after him, and then looked inquisitively at me. I grinned and then walked into the study to settle myself down on the sofa. We normally did this. I would come in from a party, and would tell her about it. I was much earlier home than normal, and so she would want to know what happened. And no doubt she had heard about Edward, and so would want to know all about that. I didn't mind. I was glad that she took such an interest in my life, unlike the absentee parents who would let their kids run wild and do anything and everything. I could share things with her. I obviously couldn't tell her everything, but I would be able to tell her enough. She shouted up the stairs at my brother, and then came back into the room. She turned down the TV, and then turned to look at me.

"So... You going to tell me what happened tonight for you to leave early, and not with the people you left with?" her voice was slightly teasing, by still had a hint of worry in it. How did she manage to infuse those two emotions together in her voice? It baffled me.

"I got into a fight with Dale. He was drunk and started saying stupid things which I took exception to. I'm gonna call him in the morning to sort it out and tell him off when he can actually feel bad for what he did." I could see her bursting to prompt me and find out the rest of the story, and for a few moments I wanted to make her ask again, but I changed my mind. No need to taunt her, "Edward gave me a lift back, because I didn't feel like staying there, and I didn't want to make Jackson leave the party, so I said yes when he offered it."

I could see the question before she asked it.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yes mum, he is. But don't go giving me the boyfriend talk. It's early days, and anyway, I think that you might like him." she looked sceptical at this. She didn't really have much of a point of reference to go from with me though. I'd only dated one guy before, and that was four years ago.

"Well, we'll see. When do me and dad get to meet him then?" never, I thought wistfully. I could imagine just what my dad would be like. He would be the stern and protective father, and then would start to embarrass me in the only way he could. I loved my dad, but he made so much of an effort to embarrass me that I was almost immune to it. Almost. I was dreading the sort of things he would come up with when he met Edward. I still had the memories from my eighteenth birthday party fresh in my mind. He and my two uncles had "dad danced" for the whole night. And I mean ultimate dad dancing, complete with widely throwing about glow sticks. I almost shuddered at the memory.

"Umm, I don't know, may be this weekend? I don't really know," I said, trying to sidestep the question swiftly. I think she realised though, and dropped the subject.

I sat there with her for a little longer, but then started yawning a lot. I got up and dragged myself to my warm comfortable bed. But I couldn't get to sleep. I tossed and turned underneath my quilt, getting tangled in the sheets. Finally I got bored of this and tossed the sheets off me. I turned to my bedside table and saw the reading on my clock. 11:47.

I sat up and grabbed my dressing gown from the side, shrugging it on, and then padded barefoot out of my room. I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, squealing slightly at the cold floor. I grabbed a glass from the cupboard, and then spun around as I felt the lightest of breaths on my neck. There was no one in the room with me. I reached for the light switch and snapped on the smaller lights which were underneath the hanging units. Breathing evenly I walked over to the tap and filled the glass with fresh cold water. I drank it gratefully, gulping it down until the glass was empty. I filled it up again, and as I was facing the sink I got the weird feeling that someone was in the room with me. I turned the tap off, and slowly turned around to lean against the edge of the unit. I was being stupid, I tried to convince myself. There was no way that anyone could be in the room with me. I was in a locked house, in the middle of Oakley. But the last part of the sentence did not have as much reassurance as it once had. My recent experience had taught me that. I slowly sipped my drink and closed my eyes, trying to repress the memories. Those people were still out there. There was no Edward here now to make me feel safe. I was in a dark house, downstairs while my parents and brother slept easily above me. I had never felt more removed from them than I did at that point. And I couldn't push the memories down. Walking as if I was in a daze I went to the table and sat down, resting my head in my hands, forcing myself to breathe slowly. I wasn't meant to be feeling like this. As much as I tried to tell myself that I hadn't changed since it happened, that it hadn't fazed me, it had affected me. I didn't go out on my own, even to see Kerry. I had to call her up and get her to meet me, always taking the roads, even though they took longer. I was scared. It had all caught up on me. My breathing began to hitch and tears began to roll from my eyes. I hated this! I hated feeling weak and vulnerable. My whole life I had been the strong one for whoever needed it, for the friend who had just been dumped, for the brother who had been bullied, to comfort anyone who needed it. And now there was no one here to comfort me, when I needed someone. Not someone. Edward. I needed him right then. My tears ran down my wrists and dropped onto my chest and legs, soaking the fabric there.

Then arms circled me, holding me to a stone hard chest, stroking my hair while the angel's voice murmured soothing things to me. I pulled my hands away from my face and threw my arms around his neck. I sobbed quietly into his chest for a long time.

Eventually my tears ran dry and I sat there on Edward's lap, in his arms, clinging to him. Neither of us had said anything. I looked up at the clock on the wall and was shocked to see that it was 3 in the morning. I had been sat with Edward for over two hours, not thinking about anything. Now my mind started working again. Looked up at Edward's eyes, to check that he was handling my proximity, or if I had to move. I really didn't want to move, so I instantly felt better when I saw their golden depth full of sympathy and concern. I didn't stop looking at him. Then I realised something.

"Edward, what were you doing here? How did you know I needed you?" I whispered, not wanting to wake anyone up. I knew that he would hear my every word.

"I didn't," he said, and then paused as if he didn't want to reveal something. I looked expectantly up at him, not letting him break away from my gaze. "I came to see if you were... alright. I wanted to make sure that the night had not affected you."

"So you came into my locked house, where my family is sleeping, where I should be sleeping, to check if I was alright?" I asked incredulously. That was the most insane romantic thing anyone had done for me. Edward nodded, then laughed quietly at the way I had put it. I snuggled into his chest and put my head on his shoulder next to his neck. He had calmed the panic which I had felt earlier. "Thank you Edward."

He stood up smoothly, still holding me, and carried me swiftly upstairs. It felt like I was flying, and we were already in my bedroom. I didn't bother asking him how he knew which room was mine. I was beginning to have sneaky suspicions about that. But try as I might I couldn't find the right indignation in myself. It was Edward and that seemed to make it acceptable. He put me down on my bed and looked down at me. I wriggled under the bed covers and looked uncertainly back up at him.

"Do you.... Do you want me to go?" he whispered. I shook my head and pouted. That was the last thing I wanted. If he went then the panic might come back.

"Please don't go Edward. I don't know if I would be able to handle being on my own again." He nodded and lay down on top of the covers next to me, hesitantly putting an arm over me. I wriggled back to lie against his stone chest.

"Do you want to talk about what was wrong?" his voice was quiet, but I automatically looked at the door. It was closed tightly. I explained to him in a whisper, and I could feel him getting tenser next to me. "I could literally kill them for what they did to you."

"Well you shouldn't," I murmured as my eye lids started to droop. I couldn't muster up the appropriate opposition to the idea of him killing someone who had hurt me. hell, I wanted to do that myself, in that kind of I want to kill you but will never have the guts to do it way. I could tell he was serious. I had to force myself to open my eyes to stop drifting to sleep. How the hell was I able to go to sleep with Edward there? And yet I was starting to drift. There was one last thing I wanted to say to him before I went to sleep. "Edward, I love you."

It was as my eyes were drooping finally that he spoke to me. When he did it sent shockwaves through me, in a good way.

"I love you." It was the first time he had said it in so many words. "Now sleep honey. You need your rest.

I woke up the next morning on my own, and couldn't help but think that the last night had been a dream. That was until I found the note underneath my pillow. It had my name in elegant calligraphy on the front. I unfolded the smooth white paper to uncover the most beautiful handwriting I had ever seen. I read through the note quickly the first, and then slowly as I digested what it said.

Bex

I am truly sorry that I wasn't able to be there when you wake. I will see you in college.

I love you

Edward

I held it for a few moments, and then started to get ready for college. As I did I mused at the unorthodoxy of our relationship. We had known each other for almost three months and he already knew me better than most people. We had been officially dating for a day and had already both said that we loved each other. He had spent the night at my house and we hadn't kissed yet. It was a strange relationship, but it was one I was strangely comfortable with. I was on top of the world.


	11. Chapter 11: Apologies

**All of the Characters from Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. not me. i wish!! all others are mine though!**

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Chapter Eleven: Apologies

My mother and brother had already left the house when I was ready to go, which made me realise that I was running late. I hurriedly picked up my bag and Edward's jacket to give back to him when we saw each other. I had put an extra thick turtleneck jumper on today because I didn't want to have to lug my coat around all day, because it was getting warmer. I looked at the calendar and was shocked to see that today was 31st March. April was almost upon us, and that meant two things for me. Easter and holidays. We were getting two weeks off from the 6th April. My mind soared as I thought of all that time to possibly spend with Edward. I zipped my boots up quickly then stepped out of the front door, turning around to lock it behind me.

I turned back, about to walk to my car when I saw the shiny silver Volvo parked on the pavement. Almost out of nowhere Edward walked down the slope towards me, taking my hand when we met.

"Do you want to get a lift with me today?" did he even need to ask. Hmm which would I prefer; driving on my own in my messed up car, or sitting in his lovely car with him. Hard choice.

"Yes please," I grinned up at him as we walked towards his car. He opened the door and I relinquished his hand reluctantly, climbing in. As I put my seat belt around me and clipped it into the holder my phone buzzed in my pocket and I had to wriggle to try and get it out. I thought I heard Edward laugh at this; he was already in the car, but I couldn't be sure. Skinny jeans were really comfortable, but were awkward for getting things out of the pockets. I flipped the phone open and saw that there was a message from Kerry, and that I had 6 missed calls. I checked the message before looking at who the calls were from.

**Hey babe, I'm really not feeling gr8, so I don't think I'm gonna be in 2day. Soz about ditching u 4 dinner – call me wen u get home and tell me what happens 2day. Xxxxx**

I quickly typed a response back to her as Edward pulled out from the kerb and down the road. I think we were going a little faster than the speed limit but I couldn't be sure as I didn't look up.

**That's cool hun – get well soon, talk 2 u later xxxxx**

Then I checked the call log and almost dropped my phone. They were all from Dale, 5 of them from the night before and one from this morning.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked curiously as he looked at my face. I laughed slightly and then put my phone away, looking up at him.

"Nothing's wrong, really. I am just surprised. Dale tried to call me several times last night and I bet it wasn't to apologise. I can't wait to see him today and read him the riot act." It was true. Dale had really annoyed me and I wanted to get my own back, even if it was a bit petty. Edward smiled back at me.

"That is very understandable," he said. Then he started asking me questions, wanting to know more about me than he already did. He asked about colours, animals, pets, laughed when I told him that the only animal I had ever owned had been Sea Monkeys, and that my brother had knocked over the bowl, killing them all.

I was surprised when we got to college, feeling like I had somehow been cheated of time with him. As I got out of the car I realised that his jacket was still on my lap.

"Edward do you want your jacket back?" I asked him as he held open my door for me. that was something I loved about Edward. He was a gentleman in every way possible; opening doors for me, giving me his jacket. I liked that. It made me feel special.

"No, you keep it," he said quietly. I shrugged it on, and inhaled deeply as I did. It still smelt of him. I smiled at him, expecting him to take my hand, and so was surprised when he wrapped his arm around my waist. My smiled widened and I put my arm around his waist, holding him tight to me. Something which had occurred to me the night before came back into my head at that point.

"Edward, it seems like it is a lot easier for you to be around me now. Why do you think that is?" he smiled at reached across with his free hand to stroke my cheek.

"It is easier because I decided it had to be, because I want to be with you more than ever before. Mind over matter." My pulse started racing at his simple touch, especially when he didn't move his hand, fitting it to my cheek. We began walking toward my first class slowly. Thanks to Edward's dismissal of the speed limit I was now on time, about ten minutes early for class.

"What do you have today?" I asked him as we neared to the History classrooms.

"I have biology, then a free period, then English, and then Physics. Then I am finished."

"What exactly did you take as your A2 levels? And how did you guys get on the courses so late into the year with no AS levels?" I asked curious to see how it had worked out. I knew that in America you had to go to school until you were 18, and I thought that you didn't have any formal qualifications until you graduated. I wasn't sure though, because I didn't know the differences between the schooling systems.

"We applied, and convinced them to let us take the AS level tests when we arrived. When we passed the tests they let us onto the courses, provided that we made sure we learnt all the material that had already been covered by the classes. I took English Literature, Biology, Physics and Psychology." I hadn't expected the last one. The study of the human brain. I thought he wouldn't need to take it, what with his special superpower. I looked up at him enquiringly. "I like to see how my interpretation of people matched up with the world's interpretation of people. Of course, neither applies when I try to figure you out."

I looked sharply at him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You don't do what most normal humans would. For example now. You are perfectly content with being this close to me, when normally I would put you off. You talked to Alice and Jasper on that first day."

"Well I know why that is," I said happily. "I've always know that I've been ever so slightly insane. It makes the world much more fun." I explained at his raised eyebrow. He laughed at that and pulled me tighter to him. I think that could get used to being like that with Edward.

"Well I have a free period after History, so do you want to meet up?" I asked wondering what I would do if he didn't want to. Probably go and revise in the library.

"That sounds good to me. What do you want to do?"

"I will probably be hungry, I normally am, so we can go to the cafe." He grinned at the mention of me being hungry.

"You know, I don't think that I have ever been around someone who eats so much."

"I do eat more than most normal people. I think that I have hollow legs." I laughed at that. It was something my friends had always said when they saw me eating. They said it was either that, or I had worms. He laughed with me, a simple carefree laugh. I began to think about his eating habits. I wondered where they were hunting while they lived here. There weren't many packs of predators, which I knew was their preference nearby, but maybe they went further afield. Hell, with the way they could run I'd recon they would be able to go as far as Scotland in not that much time at all.

We got to outside my history classroom, and there were only two people there. Dale and Alice. Dale was leaning against the wall next to the door, looking fairly ill – probably hung-over. Well that was his fault. I felt Edward stiffen by my side, and tightened my grip on his waist. I wanted to handle this. Alice bounced up to the two of us and hugged me carefully, and I wrapped my free hand around her to hug her back.

"Hey Alice. Did you enjoy the rest of last night?" I asked her, interested to see what had happened after me and Edward had left. Dale raised his head as I spoke, his face flushing red. I saw that and purposefully turned away, to look at Alice. If he was going to apologise then he could come to me. If he didn't then I was going to read him the riot act as soon as the lesson ended. I would give him the hour.

"Well I just danced with Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett. We ended up going home at about half ten. It was fun." Alice's pixie face crunched up into the cutest smile I had ever seen. It made me want to smile as well.

"I have to go to my lesson," Edward said as he gently let go of my waist. I turned to him and went on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek, my lips pressing against the smooth marble of his face. His eyes closed for a moment, and then he leaned down and kissed my forehead. He walked slowly away, so graceful, so unbelievably incredible. And this god like creature was mine. I marvelled at the idea. I watched him walk down the corridor, which was slowly becoming more crowded as people turned up for their lessons. I turned back to look at Alice, because she had started speaking.

"Now I have a serious question for you Bex," Alice said as she hooked her arm in mine. I looked down at her curiously. She was so small, her head just reaching above my shoulder. "Do you like shopping?"

"Depends on the situation I suppose. I like going shopping, but sometimes I can't be bothered."

"Do you want to go to Southampton with me this weekend?" I thought about that. I wanted to go to Southampton because the shopping centre there was massive, and for once I had money because I had just been paid. But it did mean that I would have to spend the whole day away from Edward. I could tell that Alice was the serious day long shopper. I think she saw the direction my thoughts were heading though. "We will have to take Edward and Jasper to carry our bags, of course."

I smiled at that. My suspicions about Alice's shopping habits had been proven true. I didn't have to work until Sunday, because I had swopped my Saturday shift for one on the following Monday to help out a friend who was going on a training course. So I had all of Saturday free.

"That sounds good Alice. It will be good to get out of town for the day."

"Excellent" she said as we began filing into the classroom. As I looked up I saw Dale staring at me, his eyes slightly bloodshot, with black circles underneath them. He was definitely hung over. He walked into the classroom before us. It was hurting me to ignore him, but I was still annoyed with him. Dale had been one of my closest friends for years, and it was really hard to fight with him. Still he had really got to me the night before, and I wasn't going to be the one who backed down, because he had been the one in the wrong.

We sat down and Martin started the lecture straight away. Occasionally I could feel eyes on me from across the room, but when I looked up Dale was always looking intently at the whiteboard.

The lesson was over quickly, and I had managed to get up the courage to talk to Dale. I was going to walk over to him, but he beat me to the punch. I was picking my bag up when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Bex, can I talk to you?" his eyes were full of pain. Hell, was this all just getting worse and worse? I wanted to be mad, but looking at those eyes, at the forlorn mouth made me want to hug him. In the time I had been awake tossing and turning I had thought of it all, what I would say to him. But that flew out of the window when I saw that face. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. If I did I would either come out all mad or pathetic. We walked to the side of the classroom, while everyone else was packing up.

"I am so sorry." I was shocked by the words. There was the apology I had hoped for, but not expected. I was used to Dale sticking to his guns and not saying sorry first. "I was a complete idiot yesterday. I was drunk and I just thought that you were being stupid."

"It wasn't as if I was getting off with a random guy who none of us knew. I was perfectly sober and rational. I had invited Edward." I wanted to get that point across before I accepted his apology. I saw him wince at the sober point. He hadn't been.

"Is he your boyfriend?" how many times was I going to be asked that in the next couple of days? His tone hurt me though. It was one of those "Is _he_ really going out with _you_?" that was always said in a derogatory way, as if I wasn't worthy of Edward. That bugged me. If Edward thought that I was worthy of him then that was all that mattered, right? I mean I know that he was way better looking than me, more desirable. But I had something that mattered to Edward. I consoled myself with that fact.

"Yes he is Dale. And I don't want you to try to butt in again. I love you, you are one of my best friends, but you have to know when to back off, okay? I know what I am doing." He nodded, and then hesitantly leaned down to hug me. I was beginning to feel very short. Both Edward and Dale towered over me; I think that they were both about 6 foot 2. I hugged him back, and then walked out of the door. Edward was leaning against the opposite wall waiting. I walked purposefully towards him and felt a strange release, as if his presence took a big burden from my shoulders. He smiled down at me and took my hand decisively. Then he looked up, behind my shoulder, as if someone had called his name. I followed his eye line, to Dale, who had paused looking at the two of us. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that he was considering coming over and saying something to the two of us. I had no idea what that would be, whether he would apologise to Edward, or expect an apology. Then he took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then walked towards us.

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**I would really apreciate if you would review my story. i have the next chapter almost ready, and i think if i get reviews i will post it quicker. thank you**


	12. Chapter 12: Awkward and Odd Behavouir

Chapter Twelve: Awkward and Odd Behaviour

"Edward," Dale said quietly as he reached us. I felt Edward stiffen slightly at my side. Whatever dale was thinking it wasn't pleasant towards Edward. I tightened my grip on his hand, not that that would stop him if he wanted to move. He looked down at me for a moment, an unfathomable look on his face, and then looked up sharply at Dale. "I apologise for me behaviour last night. I was just making sure that Bex was okay."

"I understand your motivation. Just know this Dale. I would never hurt Bex. She is too important to me." Edward's voice was intense as he stared down Dale. I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable as the silence between them stretched on. I was just about to interrupt it when Dale spoke suddenly as Edward looked back at me.

"Okay then. As long as we are on the same wavelength as far as Bex is concerned." There was no doubt in my mind that these two would not agree on much else. I sighed. This was going to make things increasingly awkward. I wanted to spend time with Dale, but if he was going to be at war with Edward then it was going to be difficult, as I was sure that I was going to be spending a majority of my time with him. I looked at Dale for a few moments. He was acting so odd at the moment, so hot and cold. I wanted to talk to him about it, but I couldn't think of any way of bringing it up, and around Edward I would have been even more.... tongue-tied. I wasn't going to deal with this right then. I would call him later to talk it out, or I would email him. I normally found it easier to express myself when I wrote it instead of speaking it. I pulled Edward's arm.

"Edward, let's go. I'm hungry," I grumbled. I was hungry, but it was the perfect excuse to get the two of them away from each other and their mental battle. It worked. Edward gave a short laugh, and then walked in the direction I was dragging him. I turned back for a moment. "See you later Dale."

He looked back at me with an inexplicable look on his face. He slowly waved his hand and nodded, as if he was preoccupied with something.

Me and Edward got to the cafeteria a couple of minutes later, my stomach grumbling all the way. He laughed every time it made a noise, I had no idea why that was. He seemed very... optimistic today, which contrasted incredibly when I compared it to his behaviour on that first, fateful day. That first day I had met him felt so far away from me at that moment. It felt years away, not weeks. I walked up to the hatch and grabbed an egg sandwich, coke and a chocolate muffin. I put it down on the counter and turned around to pull my purse out of my bag when Edward handed a five pound note over. He picked the food up and then carried it to a table, me following behind him. I was slightly annoyed that he had paid without saying anything, but I wasn't going to make a big thing out of it. There was no point. As I sat I unwrapped the sandwich and took a big bite out of it. It tasted good.

"Does that really taste appealing?" Edward asked with a curious look on his face. From the way he was eyeing my sandwich I could see that it didn't appeal to him at all.

"Hell yeah it does," I said after swallowing my bite. He smiled at that.

"You know, I love the fact that there is no set time for lunch here in college. In Forks we used to have to buy food, and pretend to eat it to make people think that we were normal," he said conversationally as he watched me eat. "Now I can come in whatever time you want to eat, and it won't look so odd that I don't eat, people will assume that I have eaten before, or am not hungry at that particular time. It helps that you eat so much as well."

I glowered at him as he said that last line. I knew I ate a lot, but he didn't need to mention it. He would make me feel fat! Not that I actually was fat. I was slender, from years of swimming competitively. I had given up doing the competitions when I got to college due to a recurring knee injury, but I still swam quite regularly at the sports centre where I worked. I would normally go in after work for an hour or so. I missed the competing, but I didn't miss the time that training took up. He just laughed at me. I felt like hitting him, but I had the feeling that it would do no good.

"Where have you been eating then?" I asked him, to try and get the attention off my eating habits. I did want to know the answer to this though. It had been bugging me for a while.

"Well it depends. You know that we usually like to hunt predators, and a lot of the time we do. Normally in the night we will run some place that has either predators, or maybe deer. It depends on how far afield we want to go, because distance isn't really a barrier for us." I nodded. This fit with what I thought was happening.

"So what's your favourite animal? I mean you know my favourite food is chocolate. What's yours." His face arranged its self into disapproval at my question. I shrugged. What, I wanted to know.

"It's not really the same. I don't enjoy my food as much as you seem to enjoy chocolate. But I have a preference for mountain lion. Not that there are many of them here in Basingstoke." I almost choked on my coke, which I had just taken a large gulp of. That wasn't what I had expected. Edward's face twisted with worry. I coughed for a few minutes, and then began to breathe again.

"I'd imagine that there aren't many," I said, my voice higher than normal. I cleared my throat and finished my sandwich.

"Despite the lack of hunting prospects here, I am finding that I like Basingstoke a lot. There are more people, which means that not everyone knows everyone, like it was in Forks. We are more anonymous. I like that people don't have to come to college. There are a lot less negative thoughts here, and I like that we can choose what to study. I like it here," He said conversationally as I demolished my muffin. "Of course that could have something to do with who I have...." Suddenly he broke off into a growl. I followed his eye line, and was surprised to see Dale walking through the door with Mitchell. Mitchell went up to the counter to go get some food and Dale picked a table. He looked over to us, and caught my eye for a moment, before looking back to Mitchell. I turned back to Edward. I wanted to know what he had been about to say.

"What's wrong?" I asked him as I took hold on his hand. He looked ready to jump up and fly across the room at Dale. I didn't want that.

"He is here to keep an eye on you. He is thinking that I am going to hurt you, and that he would enjoy hurting me quite a lot. And that he doesn't want to see you hurt again." He broke off. "What does he mean, hurt _again._"

This was the sort of question I didn't really want to have to answer. It told about my horrific past track with guys, and it went to a part of my life which had hurt at the time. It didn't hurt now, but still, it wasn't something I would choose to remember. Edward's hands began stroking my face.

"Bex? What is it?" he sounded worried.

"I haven't had the best experience when it comes to boyfriends and guys in general. When I was 14 I started going out with this guy. We dated for 6 months, and I thought that it was going to last. I was really naive back then. He broke up with me, saying that he had been leading me on for at least two months. Then he went out with the girl who was my best friend. Dale was there then. He saw it all. It hurt me real bad, that he could do that to me, break up with me in front of my friends, then go out with my best friend. It hurt that she would do that to me as well. Since then I haven't been able to let myself be vunerable around guys, and that pushed them away. As soon as I started to like a guy I would push him away, not say anything about my feelings, because I didn't want to get hurt again. Dale has been there since the begginging. He knows how difficult it is for me to be vunerable around anyone. I think that he doesn't want to see me the way I was back then. I closed up and didn't really talk to anyone. I cried every night for two months." Edward's hands cradled my face as I told him all this. He didn't say a word, just looked at me. "I think that is why Dale is being so off."

Edward stood up and pulled me up with him, grabbing hold of our bags. He led me out of the cafe and down the pathway to behind it. I looked up at him curiously, but I couldn't see anything in his face that I understood. He dropped our bags and gathered me into his arms, quite suddenly. He burried his face into my hair as I put my arms around him. I felt him shudder slightly.

"Bex," he said, his voice slightly muffled by my hair. "I will never hurt you like that. I will never do anything to hurt you. I want to promise you that. I want you to know that as long as you want me I will be here. I love you, and I doubt that will ever change." His voice shook with the intensity of his feelings.

"Thank you Edward," I said simply. "I love you."

He lifted his head from mine and took hold of my chin gently. He pulled it up so that I was looking into his eyes. Then, moving more slowly than I had ever seen him moving he lowered his face to mine. His lips brushed against mine, sending shocks through my body. They moved away for a second, as if Edward was gaging my reaction. I wasn't having that. I went up onto my tiptoes to kiss him again. My arms threw themselves around his neck, holding his face to mine. I could feel his hands on my back pressing me to his body. We kissed each other as if there was nothing else in the world. I ran my hands up his neck and through his hair. I kept on running them through that hair, what I had wanted to do since I had first talked to him. Our first kiss.

When he stopped it was sudden. He pulled back from my face, laughing slightly as I went back up onto my tiptoes to prolong the kiss. His eyes were excited, and for the first time I fully realised what he meant when he said my blood was more attractive to him than anyone elses. But there was a different type of excitement in them as well, one that I could identify with. I knew exactly what that was, becasue I was feeling it as well. I stood back down onto my heels and looked up at him. My arms were still around his neck, and his were still holding me to him. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, but I somehow controlled myself.

"Wow" was the only thing that I could think of to say. That had been one hell of a first kiss. I leant my head against his shoulder as I tried to calm my breathing. His was just as raged as mine. I was a bit dazed.

"Was that about my kissing prowess, or did something else amaze you?" Edward teased.

"Which do you think Edward? Hmm, difficult there. Well that tree over there is pretty incredible," I said dryly. He snorted slightly then lowered his head to my neck. He kissed slowly down its length sending shivers of pleasure through me. My heartbeat began to speed up. He could hear that. He kissed along my collar bone.

I struggled to think coherently.

"What was that you were about to say earlier, when Dale walked in?" I asked, struggling to get the words out in a rational sentence. He knew when I meant.

"I was going to say," he said, his lips brushing against my skin. "That it could have something to do with the person who I met. In other words, I could like Basingstoke because of you." That made me feel incredible. Of course, it could have been him kissing me right then as well.

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First Kiss Yay!! i hope you enjoyed that bit and that it explained why Dale was being like he was. Please review me - i have the next chapter ready, but i would like some reviews


	13. Chapter 13: Date Night

**thank you to all of the people who have reviewed my story so far, it has made me feel really good!!!**

Chapter Thirteen: Date night

"Bex, are you sure that you are going to be alright this weekend?" my mum asked for the hundredth time. She was fretting about me. She, my dad and brother were going away for the weekend up to Exeter for a football tournament. I hadn't been able to find anyone to cover for me at work when they had been booking the hotels so they were going without me. I didn't mind that much. I mean, I did want to see my brother playing football, but getting left at home wasn't a tragedy. It wasn't as if I was going to be at home on my own for the whole weekend. I was perfectly sure that I would be able to find someone who could keep me company. Maybe a certain bronze haired god would be willing to give me the pleasure of his company. I smiled at that thought. A whole weekend of Edward. Nice.

"Yes mum, I will be fine. Look, I am going into Reading tomorrow with Alice, Edward and Jasper, and then on Sunday I have work. Laura and Kerry will probably come round in the evening, and so I will be hardly on my own at all. And it's not as if help is that far away." That was true. Apart from the fact that I knew and liked everyone in our road, my uncle was a five minute drive away, and my other uncle and aunt were only two minutes away, literally, on foot. My mother was nodding anxiously as Dad hustled her out of the door. I could see him rolling his eyes at her worry. He knew that I would be fine. I stood in the doorway, kissed them all goodbye and watched them load up the car.

"We will see you on Monday Bex. Love you, bye" mum shouted from the car. They were getting back late on Monday, taking advantage of the fact that it was the Easter holidays for my brother.

"Love you, bye!" I shouted as she closed the car door. I watched them drive away from the house and then closed the door. As I did I felt hands circling my waist. He certainly had good timing.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Edward asked as he guided me back away from the door into the house. My heart was thudding wildly in response to his touch.

"We could probably go to a film, depending on what is on at the moment, or we could stay in. I don't really mind. It will be nice to have some chill out time after the stress of this last week." Edward nodded as I turned my head to face him. I took hold of his arms and lent my head against his shoulder, kissing his neck. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I think that we should go to the cinema. Do you want to see what times everything is on?" I was surprised by this choice. I had expected him to want to stay in, away from people so he could be himself. We walked together to my room, him lifting me up when we got to the stairs and running up them as only he could. He grabbed my laptop from where it lay on my desk and rested it on my lap as he sat me down on his. His arms were still around me as I pushed the power button and loaded up the internet. I tried to concentrate as I typed in the web address, but Edward was being very... distracting. He had pushed all of my hair over one of my shoulders and was kissing from my hairline down to the back of my strappy top. I concentrated on breathing in and out slowly as I clinked on the link for my preferred cinema near us. I quickly scrolled down the page until I saw a film which I had wanted to see since the trailers began. It was a thriller fantasy about people with strange powers being hunted by the government. I pointed to the showing at 7:00. It would give me forty five minutes to get ready and then a bit of time for us to get into town.

"How about this showing?" I asked as I turned around to look at him.

"That sounds like a plan," he said as his fingers trailed along my bare arms. I looked down at myself, taking in the wet hair which was dripping on our clothes, strappy top and my slob about trousers. I would have to change before we went into town. I sighed and started to push myself up from Edward's lap to go look in my wardrobe. But someone's hands wouldn't let me. I turned around again to look pointedly at him and then his mouth met mine. Finding something to wear could wait. I hooked my hand around his neck, holding his face to mine.

He lifted his lips away from mine and reluctantly pushed me up. I stood up unsteadily and almost fell over my phone charger cable. He caught me before I fell on my face and set me on my feet.

"I will leave you to get ready, and be back in about half hour with my car. See you later." He kissed me on the neck and then was gone from the room. It was probably a good idea for him to go get his car, because all the neighbours seemed to notice who came into and out of the house. They would probably end up going to my parents if Edward came into the house and didn't come with a car. Especially if he didn't come out again.

"Bye then," I said grumpily to the empty room. I stomped over to the wardrobe and pulled it open looking in dismay at my clothes. I had nothing to wear! That was a bit of an overstatement. I had clothes, but nothing that I thought was right for going out with Edward. He always looked like a model, and I didn't want to look like an idiot next to him. I was angrily pushing the clothes quickly along the bar when I got to my two skirts. One of them would be totally impractical, short and denim which I only ever wore if I was on holiday. The other one was a different story. It could work with my other clothes. I quickly pulled out a plain white strappy top and threw them both on. I added a pair of blue tights and then looked at my reflection in the mirror. The black skirt was quite simple, but the whole outfit together looked good. I felt good about my appearance, a rare occurrence. I had good days and bad days when it came to how I felt about my appearance. Some days I would feel real positive, and wouldn't care that I had acne which was covered by my fringe. Other days I would feel that I looked like an ugly scarecrow. A lot of it depended on my mood and who I was around. If I was positive I would feel good about myself, but if I was around really pretty people, like most of my friends were, then I would feel ugly. It all depended on how good I felt about myself. I grabbed my hairdryer and started drying the dripping ends of my hair.

The doorbell rang as I was putting my make up bag away. I skipped down the stairs and unlocked the door. It was Dale.

I stood there staring for a moment then looked at the road up the garden from my house. Dale's friend Mitch was in his car, the engine running, looking back down at the two of us. I waved to him, and he waved back cheerily. I was really confused.

"Bex? Can I come in? Don't worry, I am not going to be long, I just needed to talk to you without..." he broke off as I let him walk past me into the house and closed the door. I turned to him and planted my hands on my hips.

"Without Edward being here?" I completed his sentence for him. I was kind of mad, but I understood. Edward could be intimidating to other people, I knew that first hand, so I got that maybe he wanted to talk to just me. But if he wanted to speak to me he could have called first, and he didn't have to have Mitch sitting in the car with it running. Dale nodded, ashamed that I had seen through him so easily.

"I just wanted you to know that I am here for you. I am not going to force you to choose between Edward and me, since it is pretty clear that you like him a lot. I don't want to drive a wedge between us. And although I don't want to see you get hurt, I also realised that I can't stop you living your life and having boyfriends if you want to, even if I don't personally like who you are seeing. So I am sorry for how I have been acting." I was speechless. Dale, admitting that he was wrong? It was a moment for the history books.

"So why did you want to talk to me without Edward?" I asked curiously as I leant against the wall. Dale looked uneasy for a moment, and then shifted to his other foot.

"Do you want the honest answer?" I nodded. "He kind of creeps me out. I don't really like him. But I know that you do, so I am going to make an effort to get along with him. I can do that for you." I stepped forward and hugged Dale at this. He was willing to do so much and all for me. It reminded me why he was my best friend.

"Thank you Dale."

"So where are you going tonight? You're not normally this dressed up for a night in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream." Dale knew me too well. That would be what I would normally do on a Friday night, stick on a film and gorge myself on ice cream. Oh yeah I had a real active social life.

"Me and Edward are going to the cinema."

"Have fun. You look pretty tonight." Dale said as he opened the door and walked out. Mitch wound down the window on his car and shouted out to me.

"Good to see you again Bex. You look good!" I grinned, blushed slightly and waved as the car pulled away. No sooner had I closed the door and sat down again did the doorbell ring. I was prepared for anyone at that point. It was Edward. I sighed with relief and ran to grab my bag from the counter in the kitchen while he let himself in. As soon as the door had closed he was behind me, grabbing hold of my waist. I turned around and wound my arms around him, looking up into his eyes. I bit the side of my lip, waiting for him to say something. His breath caressed my face, making my lightheaded. I slumped in his arms slightly breathing him in.

"You look beautiful tonight," he said as he let go of me and took hold of my hand.

"Thank you," I blushed. Why was everyone paying me compliments today? I looked him up and down. Tonight he was wearing a pair of black jeans and a deep blue top which was open at the collar and showed tantalising hints of his muscled chest. I sighed yet again at the thought of that muscled chest. "You look really attractive tonight as well."

I pulled a pair of sparkly black ballet flats from the shoe cupboard and slipped them on as we walked through the door. I looked up the garden and my mouth fell open.

Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

Oh my goodness.

I had to remind myself to breath after a few moments. How was this even possible? How could that car be outside my house? I could hear Edward laughing at my reaction, but I couldn't seem to care. I was too busy trying not to hyperventilate. How? That was the only thing that was running through my mind at that point. I closed my eyes and then opened them again, seeing whether it had just been my imagination. It wasn't. I felt Edward take hold of my arm and lead me forward towards that car. I felt like crying, I was that happy. Not only had I been able to see this gorgeous car up close, but I was going to be able to ride in it! I laid my hand on the glossy silver paintwork and stroked it ever so slightly. This was so unreal. I mean this was the car I had loved for years and had wanted it so incredibly much. Edward opened the door, and it took me a moment to register that I could actually get into this magnificent machine. I sat down and laid my head against the leather headrest closing my eyes as Edward got into the car. I still couldn't speak.

"I thought that you might like to travel in this since you like cars." I nodded, dumbstruck. He laughed again and then put the key into the ignition turning it on. That noise.... it was one of the most heavenly things I had ever heard in my life. We set off along the road, riding smoothly around the corners.

I began to feel the cold leather seat against my shoulders. I looked around me for my jacket, but it wasn't in the car.

"Aww crap," I muttered. Edward looked towards me in askance. "I left my coat on the table." I explained.

"I have a coat in the boot which you can have," Edward said as he turned his eyes back to the road.

"Thanks. I think that I am beginning to build up quite a collection of your coats now." I said, thinking of the leather jacket on my chair in my room. I had no intention of giving it back though, I liked it too much.

"You are, aren't you," he said grinning widely.

We walked out of the cinema a few hours later, Edward's coat slung around my shoulders. We walked along together, his arm around my waist, my arm around his. My kind of heaven. Edward asked me if I was hungry, and I just looked up at him and raised my eyebrows. What did he think? We walked into my favourite chicken restaurant, which was right by the cinema and grabbed a table towards the back. I could see that Edward was waiting for something. Eventually he got frustrated.

"Where is the waiter?" he asked me. I laughed.

"It isn't that type of restaurant Edward. You have to go up to the counter and order and then they bring you your food."

"What about getting more drinks?" he asked, confused by this concept.

"They are bottomless, which means that you can get free refills from the machine over there. You don't need to ask for it, or wait. You can just go up when you like." I was finding this all very funny by this point. Edward's face was a picture. I took hold of his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, we will go up and order."

He followed me to the counter, where I ordered my usual meal from here, and Edward ordered a plate of chips. I was grateful for that, because I was very hungry. We took the cups to the machine and Edward followed my lead in filling the glass with coke. Then we sat down again.

As I sat something caught my eye. A mop of brilliant scarlet hair, the colour that you can only get from a bottle. It was on the head of a beautiful pale skinned woman, with curiously coloured eyes. They were purple, which made me immediately think that she was wearing coloured contacts. Her hair waved around her head like some exotic halo, which went all the way down to her waist. She was pretty, but looked incredibly... nervous. As if she wasn't used to this, or didn't know the man she was facing very well. I guessed that it was probably a first date. The man facing her was equally good looking. But whist she was shy with her beauty, he was fully aware of it. He had long brown hair which almost covered his eyes, and pale, pale skin. He kept on flicking his fringe out of his eyes, which reminded me for a moment of Dale. His skin was flawless, not spots or blemished. If I had to guess I would say that he was in his mid twenties. My attention was drawn to his eyes. They were a dark brown, almost a burgundy red. Then he noticed that I was looking at him. His eyes met mine, and he smiled. It was the smile of a predator. I shook my head to get rid of the insane thoughts and looked back to Edward. He looked at me questioningly, but I shook my head. I was just being paranoid.

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**Again, please review and tell me what you think - i really do appreciate every review i get!**


	14. Chapter 14: Shopping with Alice

**I just want to say thank you to all the people who have reviewed me so far - it means a lot to me!!**

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Chapter Fourteen: Shopping with Alice

I felt lips on mine when I woke up. They pulled away when I opened my eyes and groaned. I turned over to look at the alarm clock and was shocked by what I saw. It was 9 o'clock. On a Saturday. There was something sacrilegious about that.

"Edward!" I whined. "I wanna go back to sleep!"

I heard him laugh, and then his face came really near to mine. I closed my eyes and rolled over, desperate for more sleep. Did he not get that when I didn't work I wanted as much sleep as I could get. Then he pulled the covers off me. I squealed at the cold air and curled up into a ball to try and retain the last vestiges of warmth.

"Alice is outside Bex. She is really impatient. And I can tell you now that if she comes in here she will not be as nice as I am being. And she has been waiting for ten minutes already." I snorted at the thought of this being nice. Then I felt cold hands tickling my feet. I jumped up at that and squealed again.

"Edward!" I said indignantly. It was nice to talk at a normal level to Edward in the morning. Normally I would have to whisper to him. Now I could shout if I wanted to. And I wanted to shout at being woken up at this insane time of the morning. Who did Alice Cullen think she was? What kind of person would wake me up at this time on the weekend? It was some kind of sophisticated new torture. "Fine, fine, I am up. Let me get dressed now. Go get your car. You can also go tell Alice that I am up and am not happy." Edward disappeared out of the room with a laugh. I looked into my cupboard, concerned. What was sensible for a shopping trip with Alice? I had no doubt that this would be different to a normal shopping trip.

In the end I pulled out a simple pair of blue jeans and a top with _Animal_ from the Muppets on the front. I paired that with a pair of ballet flats and on top of the top I put Edward's brown leather jacket from the night before. Idly I wondered what people who were used to a hot climate would be wearing for this sort of weather. I wondered how they would deal with the cold that I took as normal. Would they be wearing a thick coat and woolly socks? A knock on the door shook me to alertness. No doubt it was Alice.

I was right. I opened the door and she bounced through, looking awake and alert, which made me feel even more droopy eyed. I followed her into the kitchen and pulled a bowl out of one of the cupboards.

"Are you ready to go Bex," Alice trilled cheerily. I just glared at her. I poured the cereal and milk into the bowl and began eating.

"What do you think Alice? It's 9 o'clock! And I need to eat, or I will be very cranky." she smiled up at me, a wicked grin. She was enjoying this immensely. She was dressed fantastically, as normal, with a flannel shirt over a tight black top and tight blue jeans. "You look nice."

She grinned at the compliment then began to drum her fingers on the table. I took this to be that she was impatient. I deliberated for a few moments, considering eating slower, but I decided against it. As I finished and washed the bowl in the sink Edward walked through the front door. He looked me up and down, and then smiled when he saw his jacket on me.

"I take it that you like my jackets then," he said as he took hold of me. He rested his head against mine as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled up at him, a smile of pure joy. Alice cleared her throat at us, but we ignored her, we were so engrossed in each other's faces.

"Edward, Bex!" Alice said sharply. "We have to go. Edward, so help me I will tell her!"

That got both of our attention. Edward glared at Alice and let go of me with his one hand, keeping one hand securely around my waist. I looked at both of them curiously, but neither of them said anything. We walked out of the door, and Alice got into the car with Jasper. Edward led me to his shiny silver Volvo.

"How come we didn't all go in the same car?" I asked as he started the ignition and pulled out of the drive. He didn't say anything for a few moments. "And what is Alice going to tell me?"

"Alice isn't going to tell you anything. It's not important. Jasper is the newest to our life. He finds it more difficult to abstain from human blood, and I didn't want to put you at risk by making him to be in a small space with you for a prolonged space of time. Alice said that nothing would happen, but I didn't want to take that risk." I frowned at him. "What is wrong?"

"Jasper deals with it fine in French when he is the only vampire in a group of humans, with them all in close proximity to him. He would be fine." I didn't like Edward making a big thing out of it, us travelling in separate cars. If there was a genuine risk, then yeah, sure I could understand taking precautions. But I was sure that Jasper would be able to deal with it. Edward was able to, and my scent was much worse for him. Edward frowned at me.

"I still don't get how you can be so comfortable talking about mine and my family's nature. How you are able to say the word vampires so casually, and not care about it. You baffle me." I could hear the unspoken question beneath his words. He was asking why I was able to be around him so easily, and not be freaked out by it all.

"Well prepare to be baffled a lot then, because I am planning on sticking around."

We got to the shopping centre about twenty minutes late thanks to the vampires disregard for all speed limits. They parked in the multi storey car park and we all walked down the stairs together. I could see Jasper tense up slightly, and Alice take his hand, but other than that, nothing happened. I could tell that Alice meant business by the way that she walked. She was still bouncy graceful, but she had purpose in her stride. It was slightly intimidating.

We got down to the shop level and Alice immediately walked towards the biggest department store in the whole shopping area. We went to the women's section first of all and Alice began loading Jasper up with tops, jeans, trousers, skirts and jumpers. I could see that she was picking up size sixes, so I was reassured that they were for herself. Occasionally she picked up a ten, which I assumed was for Rosalie. Then she turned and looked speculatively at me.

"Bex, what size are you?" she asked, as if she were mentally measuring me herself. "I can't get used to the differences between the American system and the English one. I would say that you are an American two, which is an English six right?"

"I am an eight. The size six clothes are never long enough for my legs, and are too tight around my chest." I said, and she turned back to the rails. She then started to load Edward up with clothes. I assumed they were for me to try on. I didn't complain, but I knew I would never be able to afford these sorts of clothes. It would be nice to try them on. She was throwing lots of random stuff on, and some of it was stuff I would never even consider wearing myself. It was when she started walking towards the counter that I started to complain.

"Alice, I can't afford any of that. And most of it will probably not fit!" she just glanced back at me and then to Edward.

"Alice will buy it whether you want her to or not Bex. Its better if you let her, and then you can bring back anything you don't like." Edward explained with a grin on his face. He was clearly enjoying the fact that they were buying stuff for me. Normally it wouldn't matter to me, if they had bought me a small present. But this was like half the shop! Edward put one arm around me, whilst holding the clothes hangers with his other hand and smiled at me. I ignored him, as I was in full pouting mode. They shouldn't be doing this, and there was no way I was going to be able to stop them. I was beginning to regret agreeing to come shopping with Alice.

The man at the cash register looked in shock at the displays of beauty in front of him when we got to the counter. Alice was at the front, with Jasper next to her, putting the clothes on the counter, and then me and Edward were behind them. When Edward put the other clothes on the counter the man look curiously at me, as if to say "what are you doing with people who look like that". I knew that I stood out from Alice, Jasper, and Edward. They were all breathtakingly beautiful, and I was just normal looking. I sighed and I head Edward hiss under his breath. I read what the cash register said. £540. That's a lot of money, at least to me. Alice casually handed over her credit card; as if that was the sort of money she paid for clothes every day. Knowing her, it probably was.

"Does no one see anything clearly?" he fumed as we walked out of the store. I looked up at him questioningly, wondering why he had said that. "Every see's our obvious attractions, and misses a true beauty like you."

I blushed and looked at the floor. He was just trying to make me feel better. I realised that the clerk had been thinking what I thought he had been thinking, and Edward had taken exception to it. If only what he thought was actually true though. I think that he might have been very biased.

As we were walking along the walkways my attention was grabbed by the same bright red hair as the night before. Across the walkway from where we were standing the man and woman from the chicken restaurant the night before were sitting on a bench together. He had his arm around her waist, and was whispering something into her ear, and she was laughing. Then his eyes met mine again. It was definitely the same man. He radiated the same amount of menace; I could feel that even though he was far away from me. It scared me. I tried to convince myself that it was just a coincidence that this couple was here in reading the same time as us. I tried to remember whether me and Edward had talked about the trip to Reading the night before when we were in the restaurant. I thought that we had, but I couldn't be sure. My mind whirled to darker avenues. What if they had followed us here? The man had seemed to be aware of us the night before, and then here he was staring at me. But maybe that was because I was staring at him. This could be a totally innocent coincident._ But I don't believe in coincidences_ I thought to myself as we walked on. It felt like there was something going on that I didn't understand.

I had to remind Edward and the others an hour later that I actually needed to eat more than they did, and that I was very hungry. Edward laughed as Alice growled softly in annoyance at the interruption. I had tried to keep quiet about my hunger for as long as possible, but we had just passed a bakery, and the smell had made me want to eat more. We backtracked and I picked up a baguette from the bakery to eat as we walked, along with a bottle of coke and a donut. In my mind I kept on seeing the guy and girl which we had seen earlier everywhere, but I was sure that I was just being suspicious.

We now had so many bags that the two boys decided that they were going to go back to the car to put the bags away so that they didn't have the inconvenience of carrying them around all day. I agreed with them – the plastic bags were making marks in my hands from the weight of them. Of course, they didn't have to worry about that. Stupid vampires with their super hard skin and super strength. My arms were aching, and Edward had been carrying most of the bags which included the clothes for me. Alice took hold of my hand, and told the boys that we would meet them in the shoe store which she wanted to go to next.

It was fun walking with Alice. She was still a bubbling ball of enthusiasm, and I found that I could talk to her about anything. She told me a bit more about herself, and how she met Jasper, whilst I talked a bit about my past. When I found out that the first thing which Alice had seen when she had become a vampire was Jaspers face I thought that it was so cute. I was shocked that she had no memories of her human life though. I couldn't imagine having that black space where her memories should have been.

We got to the shop and Alice picked up a pair of stupidly high stiletto heels. I just looked at her as she handed them to me. What did she think that she was doing? She knew that I had balance problems. Was she trying to get me to break my ankle? Or worse, my neck?

"Alice, you know perfectly well that me and stilettos would not be a good combination. I will wear wedges. I will wear heels if they are chunky. But I draw the line at stilettos." I told her firmly as I put them down. There was no way that I was trying those on.

"Fine," Alice said as she picked up two pairs of shoes, giving one to me and keeping one pair for herself. These ones were a bit more practical, and they looked awesome. They had a chunky two inch heel, with sparkly silver straps crossing over each other in a complicated pattern until the ankle. They fastened in a buckle at the back of my heel. I tried these on, and loved them. Too bad I had nowhere to wear them. Alice seemed to sense where my mind had gone. "You know there is a masquerade ball at college in a week. You can wear those. We just need to get you a dress and mask."

"What makes you think that I am going to be going Alice?" I asked as I put the shoes back into their box. I picked up a pair of sandals, which were black, and had a very low heel. These would be great for on holiday.

"Because Edward is taking you. Me and Jasper are going as well," Alice said as she admired the pair of shoes which were on her feet. They were black with complicated straps which crossed over and under each other to do up a little way above her ankle. They had 3 inch stiletto heels, and made Alice as tall as I was normally. I was kind of surprised by what she had said. I hadn't thought that this kind of thing would be their scene. I mean there would be lots of people around. But it looked like it would be fun. Trouble was I had never been to any sort of masquerade ball before and I had no idea what I would have to wear. "I think that we should get you a floor length dress, which is almost like a ball gown, with the skirt sticking out. I can see it in my head right now. I think a purple, or possibly a deep pink. I can see it in my head right now. I think strapless, with matching gloves and a simple mask which goes across the eyes."

Alice's eyes were far away, and I wasn't sure if she was actually "seeing" it, or just imagining it. Whatever it was I was pretty sure that I was going to be wearing what she wanted me to wear. I looked out of the window, and saw a pair of scared eyes looking back through at me. It was the red haired girl, and she looked positively scared out of her mind. And arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the window. He was pulling her away, forcibly. To everyone else it would look like they were messing around, having fun, but I could see through that. She was terrified, and the man who I had been seeing everywhere today was pulling her about. His eyes met with mine once more, and he winked. He knew that I had seen him. He wanted me to know that he knew I had seen him. I flinched away.

That caught Alice's attention, she looked through the window at him as well, and a hiss came from deep in her throat. I looked back at her, alarmed. Her lips were pulling back from her teeth, a terrifying sight. He backed away from the window slowly, pulling the woman behind him. As he did so he lowered his lips to her neck. His gaze never left me.

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**So I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. i really apreciate any review i get, so please review this for me!!**


	15. Chapter 15: Murder

**Thank you so much all of you who take the time to review for me - it makes my day when i see the magic word "review" in my inbox! a big thanks to bnsfry - you totally rock!**

Chapter fifteen: Murder

"Alice, what the hell was that about?" I asked her, trying to figure out what had happened in my mind. I was so confused, and actually pretty scared. After the man had pulled the girl with bright red hair away Alice had whisked me to the counter to pay for the two pairs of shoes we had tried on. She no longer appeared to be interested in shopping. As we walked out of the shop she looped her arm around mine and pulled me closer to her. Looking all around us she walked me to the nearest wall and pulled out a small black mobile. She typed in a number quickly and put the phone to her ear. She listened for a minute and then began speaking.

"Edward. No we have moved." I looked like she was arguing with Edward. I wanted to know what it was about. "No. I need to talk to you. Obviously, I mean face to face. We have a problem." She paused to listen to something that Edward was saying, but cut in. "Listen, Me and Bex are coming back to the car. I get the feeling that we have to cut this shopping trip short." That caught my attention. There was definitely something going on here, beyond what I knew about. Alice flipped the phone shut and began walking us back towards the car park.

"Alice, what the hell was that about?" I said quietly as we walked through the group of people. I thought that she would be able to hear the edge of panic in my voice. She did, and rubbed my arm to try and soothe me.

"Bex, don't worry about it. Everything is fine." She said soothingly. The sort of thing that you want to hear, but it didn't help me. I wanted to know what was happening, and why it was happening to me. I didn't think that she would tell me though, not until we got to the boys. I had to ask anyway, regardless of where we were.

"Alice, tell me. What was that?" I didn't raise my voice, because I was fully aware that we were in the middle of a crowded shopping centre. People around us paid no attention to us, we were walking at a normal pace. But every face looked suspicious to me, and each moment I expected to see that face again.

"The man who was outside the shop was one of us." I got what she meant straight away. He was a vampire. "Not like my family. One who feeds off...." she broke off. I knew what she was going to say. A vampire who feeds off humans. I shuddered slightly. "He was paying a lot of attention to you, and I didn't want him to think that you could be his next meal. I think he could smell how good you smell."

That freaked me out. I had kind of blocked from my mind that there would be vampires who chose to drink from humans. The idea that he might want to feed from me was truly chilling. We were in the car park by now, and Edward and Jasper came walking smoothly up to us. I grabbed hold of Edward, and pulled him towards me, hooking my hands around his chest. He put his arms around me, stroking my hair soothingly. I breathed in his scent, letting it calm me down slowly. He was the best kind of pain relief in the world, at least for mental stress and anxiety.

"Alice what is...?" Edward broke off as he saw what had happened in her mind. He snarled as he got through what I imagined was Alice's full memories. He would have it all in surround sound, from the quality of Alice's sense, and her ability to recall everything she had seen, something she had developed to remember all of what happened in her visions. His arms tightened around me. "Bex, are you alright?"

"I am now," I said, not pulling away from him. That was true. His presence had made me think clearly again, pushed away the fog of fear that had taken over a large proportion of my mind. "Edward, are we going now?"

Edward lifted my up slightly, so my feet were no longer touching the floor and carried me to where the car was. I was surprised by this, but didn't complain. I wanted to be out of Reading, and in my bed. I had had enough excitement for one day. I didn't know how much more I would be able to take.

"We are going home. I need to figure some things out."

Edward carried the bags of clothes which they had bought for me into the house all together as I walked in; trying to fight the daze I was feeling. I walked into the kitchen and began gathering up the ingredients that I would need for what I was making for my dinner. I wasn't that particularly fond of cooking, but I could do it if I had to, and I did a pretty good job. No one had got food poisoning from anything that I had cooked so far, so that had to mean something good. I pulled out the chicken breast I had put into the fridge the night before, and started to cut it up. I was making myself chicken wraps, with rice, green peppers and hoi sin sauce. I think that Edward took the bags upstairs and put them in my room, because when he appeared back in the kitchen he was empty handed. He pulled the knife out of my hands and put it onto the side. He gathered me into his chest and buried his face in my hair, breathing deeply. I put my arms around him and held him to me. I had no idea why he had grabbed hold of me so suddenly, but I wasn't going to complain. I relished in the comfort of his arms, the safety and security I felt.

Then my phone started to vibrate in my pocket, and I had to wriggle to get it out, because Edward didn't let go of me. I held it to my ear as I turned around and leant against his chest, laying my head back on his shoulder.

"Hello." I said. In my haste to answer the phone I hadn't even looked at who it was that was ringing me. I had figured that it was Laura, or Kerry, seeing what I was doing the next day. So I was slightly surprised to hear the gravelly tone of my boss. He sounded really ill and stressed.

"The boiler has broken, and all of the heating has gone out of the building, which means that it isn't safe to have any of the kids in the pool." He said. So that was why he was stressed. This had only happened once before, but it had stopped the lessons programme for two months, and the whole centre had pretty much ground to a halt. I wouldn't have any work to do until the boiler was fixed, because all of the work that I did was practically based, and I had to have kids to teach. "You won't have to work tomorrow. I will give you a ring when we get it fixed."

"Okay George, I will talk to you later." He hung up on me after saying goodbye, and I put my phone on the side. I was slightly annoyed that I would not be working, because it meant that I wouldn't have any money coming in, because I didn't get paid a fixed rate, I got paid for the time that I worked. I would appreciate the lie ins while they lasted, but would miss the money. And it meant that I wouldn't be able to put money into my savings account.

"You don't have work tomorrow then?" Edward asked. I wasn't surprised that he knew what the call was about. He probably had the super hearing, and had heard exactly what George had said. I nodded against him, and then pulled away to do my tea. He sat down at the kitchen table and watched me cooking. He was quiet for a few minutes. "How about you come to my house tomorrow then? I will introduce you to my parents."

I swallowed and turned around to face him. Meeting his parents. I could do that. I wouldn't be nervous at all. Not one bit. I snorted at myself. I couldn't even convince myself that I would be fine. I was very nervous at the thought of meeting Esme and Carlisle Cullen as their son's girlfriend. And if I met them then I was sure that Edward would expect to be introduced to my parents. I internally shuddered at the idea of my father and Edward in the same room. It was the sort of thing that could haunt anyone's nightmares. My father was probably one of the most embarrassing men ever to walk this earth. His idea of dealing with prospective boyfriends was to grill them senseless, and then embarrass me to see what they would do. Not that he had much chance to practise the technique with my appalling track record with boys.

"I guess so," I said, leaning against the counter as I waited for the rice to cook in the microwave. I think that he could sense my nerves.

"You will be fine. You have already met most of them anyway." Crap. I would have to meet Rosalie, the vicious blonde who had glared at me as if she wanted to kill me. Crap. I didn't even want to think about how that meeting would go. if she hated me before meeting me, then how was she going to feel when she did. Somehow I didn't think that her reaction would include milk and cookies.

"I am not afraid of them because they are vampires. I am afraid that they won't like me." I whispered.

"That would be very impossible. How could they not like you?" Edward said playfully, but slightly incredulously. He was still having a hard time realising that I didn't care about his vampiric nature. He thought that I was suppressing it. I really wasn't. I could accept his version of the vampire world, the version where they are not monsters and do not eat people. The other kind, I hadn't got used to them yet.

"What was that today?" I asked him, changing the subject swiftly. I was still curious, even if the fear had left me. Edward growled quietly. He knew what I was asking about.

"I am not quite sure. Alice thinks that he was staking you out as a prospective meal, and that he just wanted to get a feel for how you would react to him. I wish I had been there to read his mind, to find out what exactly he was thinking." I froze up at the word meal. It was chilling that another vampire wanted to eat me. Edward was suddenly in front of me, gently pulling my hands away from the counter which I had gripped so hard that my knuckles had turned white. He held my hands and stooped to be at my eye level. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Now that he knows that you have other vampires around you he will not risk coming near to you again."

That wasn't that comforting really. I had glimpsed the other side of the vampire world, and no amount of reassurances was going to make me feel better. I would only feel safe as long as Edward was with me. If he wasn't, then I knew that I would freak out. I wouldn't feel safe in my own home; because I knew that the locked doors wouldn't keep out a vampire if they really wanted to get in.

"He won't come near you again, Bex, I promise. You are mine!" his voice was full of emotion as he pulled me into his chest. I didn't mind his declaration. If I was his then I would be safe. And I wanted to be his, for more reasons that just that one.

I woke up the next morning in Edward's arms, my head against his stone chest. He knew when I was awake and loosened his hold on me. Strangely my one arm was aching, though I had no idea why that was. I looked up into Edward's ochre eyes. they were tight, as if something had happened in the night.

"Are you alright now?" He asked as I wriggled my shoulders to become more comfortable.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, confused by the direction of the question so early in the morning. What had happened in the night?

"You were shouting in the night, and at one point you started trying to hit things. I had to stop you from hurting yourself." There was concern in his voice. So that was why my arm was hurting. "You were asking someone to leave you alone, and that they had no idea what they were doing."

I took a deep breath as I remembered my nightmare from the night before. It was a recurring dream which I had had since I was little. It was of people chasing me through the streets which I didn't recognise. I would always get trapped in an alleyway, and the five assailants would converge on me. They would attack me, and I would try to fend them off. It always ended the same way, with me bleeding on the floor as they laughed. I guess that I had lashed out at Edward in the night as I tried to get away.

"It was just a nightmare. I am fine." I could feel curiosity rolling off him in waves, but for some reason I couldn't tell him what the dream was about. I hadn't ever told anyone, and I wasn't ready to yet, not even to tell Edward.

I got out of the bed and threw my dressing gown on over my pyjamas and padded barefoot downstairs. On the doorstep was the newspaper, which I picked up on my way to the kitchen. I got myself some breakfast and opened the paper. I dropped my spoon as I saw the picture on the front page. It was the bright red haired girl I had seen with the vampire the day before. In the photo she was laughing, her expression a thousand miles away from the one I had seen on her face the day before. The headline screamed at me, the black ink pulsating out from the white paper:

**Horrific murder victim found**

I read through the article, my breakfast forgotten. Specific details stood out to me.

**Late last night 20 year old Samantha Cordon was found dead outside the back of one of Reading's most popular clubs. **

**Her body was discovered by one of the employees of the club when he went out for a cigarette.**

**Her body was so mutilated that they had to use dental records to ID who she was.**

**Her body was drained of almost all of the blood. There was very little on the floor around her.**

**The police believe that she was killed somewhere else and purposefully left where she was found.**

**There was no unknown DNA on the scene.**

**She was last seen leaving her home in the early hours of the morning in the company of an unidentified man. Anyone who knows who this man could be, or who have any information which could help the police find him should contact them directly.**

**She was studying art at Reading University.**

**Her parents and older siblings are distraught.**

I was breathing heavily as the implications of this event struck me. The vampire who had been with her had killed her, violently and had dumped her body where someone would find it. She had been 20 years old. And she was dead. And I knew who killed her. Her family were distraught. But I couldn't say anything, without putting the people I loved at risk. I stared at the paper, no longer seeing the words.

"She's dead." I heard myself whispering over and over again. A woman who had been so full of life the day before, who I had seen the day before was dead. She was killed by the monster who had also wanted to kill me. I tried to stop myself hyperventilating, as the tears started to roll down my face. I didn't understand my reaction. In my world there were murders and deaths in the paper almost every day. It was the sort of thing you got numb to. But this was different. This was someone I had been aware of. And I knew what had killed her. I felt like I was straddling the line between my world and the mysterious world of vampires right then. This girl had also straddled the very same line and was dead because of it.

"It doesn't make sense," I heard Edward say as he took the paper away from me and pulled me into his arms. I cried silently into his top as he spoke to himself. "Why would he be so careless?"

That got my attention.

"What do you mean, careless?" I asked, wiping my face against his top. It was the same one from the night before. He hadn't gone home to get changed as he normally did.

"Normal vampires are usually careful about where they put the people they have killed. This is like he is trying to send a message to someone."

**i hope you enjoyed that chapter and please please review!**


	16. Chapter 16: The Family

**I am so so sorry about the fact that it has taken me so long to upload this!! i have had exams and coursework which unfortunatly take precedence over my fanfic. but to try and make up for this i have uploaded two chapters at once and hopefully will have the next one up by next monday at the latest.**

Chapter Sixteen: The Family

It took me an hour to gain a semblance of calm. Edward left me to get ready myself, promising that he would be back as soon as possible, with his car to pick me up. I looked at my wardrobe distractedly, wondering what I was meant to wear to meet his family. I couldn't find anything, so I resorted to the bags of clothes Alice had bought for me. I found a black dress which went down to my knees and had a purple band around the middle. It was strapless, and so I put on a purple cardigan over the top for warmth. I thought that it looked good, but I didn't know if I was trying too hard or not. I pulled out my ballet flats again and slipped my feet into them after putting on a pair of skin coloured tights. I slipped an Alice band into my hair behind my fringe and looked at myself in the mirror. I frowned. There was a knock on the door, and I answered it, anxious about what Edward would think about the outfit. He gawped at me as he walked through the door. I knew that the outfit had been a mistake.

"Does it look like I am trying too hard? It's something Alice got me yesterday. It looks bad doesn't it? I can go change. I am going to go change. Stay here." I said in all one breath as I turned to go back upstairs and get changed. Edward's hand grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me back into his arms.

"You look beautiful, I promise you that. Where did you get the crazy idea that you are trying too hard. This is perfect." I looked up at his face, to check that he was being sincere. "And Alice will love you for wearing something she bought."

His lips came down on mine quite suddenly. Although it was unexpected, I enjoyed the movement of our lips together. His lips parted mine slightly, and I could feel his top lip between mine. I shivered as his lips closed on my bottom lip and tugged gently. I threw myself into the kiss, knotting my hands into his bronze hair, trying to hold his face to mine. He responded by tightening his grip around my waist and pushed me gently against the wall. That surprised me. When we had kissed before he had drawn a line at something like this, to keep me safe. I found that I liked this new reckless behaviour on Edward's part. I could feel all of his body against mine as our lips moved together. His one hand tangled in my hair, and he groaned. That noise sent shockwaves through my body, heat running through all of me.

When Edward pulled away from me it was as sudden as when he had started kissing me. I slumped against the wall as I tried to regain control of myself and my breathing. There was nothing I wanted more in that moment to carry on kissing Edward, no matter what ended up happening. His touch bought out the hormonal teenager in me, and I wanted nothing more than his touch. Not a good idea for either of us at that point. He took a few steps away from me, and I ran my hands through my own hair. It was knotted and tangled from when Edward had taken hold of it. I smoothed it down and pulled my fingers through it quickly.

"I apologise," he said as he worked the tangles out of my hair. I grinned up at him and giggled. I couldn't help myself. Why the hell was he apologising for that?

"Let's go, before I get any more nervous than I already am," I said as I picked up my bag and opened the front door. I smoothed my hair down nervously one last time in the mirror on the shoes cupboard. Edward laughed and took hold of my waist, locking the door behind me. I didn't even worry where he had got the key from. Knowing him he had stolen it straight from the bag I was holding.

We walked out and I sat nervously in the front seat. Edward was grinning the whole time. I think that he was enjoying my nervousness, finding something funny about this insane situation.

When we got out of Oakley Edward started driving away from Basingstoke, rather than towards it. I was slightly surprised by this, and then realised that I had no idea where he lived. We drove quiet a way out of the countryside, taking small side roads instead of the larger ones. It was not long before we were going up a long gravel covered drive. All along the side of the driveway were large oak trees, shading over the road on both sides. We went around the corner and I gasped. In front of us was a big house, with mansion like proportions. It was white all over, and went up three stories. It was beautiful, and I had never thought that a house could be even considered beautiful. Edward pulled around the back into a garage full of the most drool worthy cars. The BMW M3 convertible, Porsche 911 Turbo, Mercedes CL55 AMG, Lamborghini Mercielargo, Lotus Elise 1115 and of course, Edward's Aston Martin Vanquish. I almost fainted right there. Surrounded by cars I could only dream about in the past, because there was no way that I would be able to go anywhere near them. I could hear Edward laughing behind me.

"Whose cars are these?" I managed to ask after a few moments of deep breaths. Edward motioned towards each of the cars.

"Rosalie's BMW, Alice's Porsche, Carlisle's Mercedes, Jasper's Lamborghini, Esme's Lotus and you already know that the Vanquish is mine." He motioned to each car in turn.

"I officially am so jealous of you Edward Cullen," I admitted as he guided me through a doorway into a spacious living area. Along the back wall there were wall sized windows, covering the whole wall. There were a few white leather sofa's arranged around a television on the wall next to the door we were walking through, and by the windows there was a white piano. The rest of it was open and light, with the carpet which was cream coloured covering the whole floor. I admit, right then my mouth fell open. This was the sort of home which you saw in celebrity magazines, so incredibly unattainable, and stylish.

Sitting on one of the sofa's was Dr. Cullen, and the woman who I assumed was his wife. He looked so much better looking and young than I remembered from the hospital, which could have been because he was wearing casual weekend clothes, rather than the hospital white coat. His wife was as beautiful as the rest of the family, with the customary pale skin and bronze eyes. Her hair was caramel coloured curls which went down to her elbows. She was wearing a simple black pencil skirt and blue shirt combo, which looked very flattering on her.

"Bex, this is my father Carlisle, and mother Esme. Esme, Carlisle this is Bex," Edward said as he took hold of my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. I smiled shyly at them and held out my hand. Esme took it carefully and shook it.

"It is lovely to finally meet you Bex," she said as she let go of my hand.

"It's great to meet you to. Your house is amazing."

"It is nice to see you again, Bex." Carlisle said as he took hold of my hand. "I think that Alice and Jasper will be down in a minute. Of course, you already know them."

"Hi Bex!" Alice trilled enthusiastically as she raced down the stairs. She hugged me, and then stepped back to see what I was wearing, clapping her hands in glee. "That dress looks good on you. I knew it would!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm and brushed my fingers through my hair. Alice certainly was a character. I saw Jasper walking slowly down the stairs after Alice. I smiled and waved at him as he reached the bottom. It was awkwardly silent for a few minutes until Edward pulled me towards the stairs. His family dispersed quickly, so quickly in fact that I didn't even have time to register where they all went. We walked slowly up the stairs as Edward's arm wound around my waist. He motioned to all of the doors, and told me what rooms were behind them. We got to the top floor and Edward pulled open the last door in the corridor. It opened on a large square shaped room. On one side all along the wall there were shelves all the way from the floor to the ceiling, which held more books that I could ever imagine owning, and more CD's than I thought it was possible to own. In the corner was a sophisticated sound system with large speakers, and next to it was a low black sofa. The floor and curtains on the large back facing window were a muted gold, which reminded me of his eyes. I walked slowly across to the books side of the shelves and silently fingered the spines of the books. So many books. It would take years to read all of them.

Arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me into Edward's stone chest. I leant back and closed my eyes. He pulled me to the sofa and sat us down, me sitting on his lap. For a few moments I breathed in and out deeply, content to be in his arms.

"They like you." Edward said. As he spoke I felt his chest vibrating against my back.

"What, Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle?" I asked, surprised by the direction of his comment. It was nice to be told that, but I was wondering why he felt that I needed that reassurance.

"My whole family."

"Now that is a lie right there." I said, and heard a growl build up in his chest. His grip tightened on me. "I haven't met Rosalie and Emmett properly yet, so they can't like me. And I get the feeling that Rosalie won't like me any way."

"And why is that?" Edward's voice was deceptively quiet, that kind of hidden menace.

"Because the one time I saw her she spent it glaring at me. But whatever. I don't really mind. It would be nice if she could at least wait to meet me to hate me, but it isn't going to keep me up at night." I was being honest. I would prefer Rosalie's friendship to her dislike, but I wasn't going to cry over it. Edward snarled softly.

"She glared at you." He said it as a statement, but I could hear the anger in his voice. He was mad. Great.

"Honestly Edward, it's nothing. I have dealt with worse." There was no doubt about that. Teenage girls were notoriously bitchy, and I had been on the receiving end of snide comments and jealous looks more than once. It was the sort of thing you either ignored or let them get to you. And I would never let girls like that win, by letting them know they got to me. That was part of why I had refined sarcasm to an art. It was more satisfying that way, when you made a cutting comment that they couldn't argue back to. "Tell me something." I said, changing the direction of the conversation.

"It depends on what it is." He was still angry, but curious as to what I would want to know.

"Tell me about your past. How did you become a vampire? How did Carlisle find you?"

I had lost track of time as Edward told me about how he had been changed, and a little of Carlisle's story. I was so engrossed in his story that I jumped at the quiet knock on the door. After a second or two Alice walked through the door, followed by Jasper. Alice walked into the room and sat down in the middle of the floor, whilst Jasper skulked by the door. His face was shocked as he looked at me and Edward and I realised that I was still on his lap, sitting side on so that I could see Edward's face while he was talking.

"Bex, Esme wants to know if you are hungry, because she says that if you are then she will order in a pizza for you." A frown of worry spread over Alice's face. "I mean, I can see us ordering pizza, but we could get something else if you were just going to go along with it. Whatever take out you want"

"Are you sure? Won't it be odd if you just order one pizza, won't it seem a little odd for a family this size." I was slightly confused. They didn't have to order me food. I could cook some when I got home. Although my stomach was rumbling quite a lot, and I really couldn't be asked to cook. If I was at home I would have probably ordered a takeaway.

"No silly," she giggled. "We will be ordering enough for all of us. Its one of the ways that we consolidate our cover as a normal human family."

"It's not like Forks here Alice. No one really pays attention unless they are your friends." It was true. I had no idea of any of the people who delivered take away in Basingstoke, because there were so many, and I usually collected any take aways for my family.

"Bex," Alice's tone was no nonsense. "What. Pizza. Do. You. Want?"

"Okay, okay Alice, get me a ham on margarita, with deep pan crust, can you order in some chips as well." Alice's face was blank when I said the word chips. I sighed. They didn't seem to have an internal American/English slang dictionary like I had developed. "Chips are known as fries in America. Hell, have you never left that country until now?"

"Not recently, until now," Alice admitted. "We have been to secluded hot countries for holidays, but never anywhere like this to live. At times it can be slightly disorientating. Right, come on Jazz, I will order the pizza's"

I sighed and leant into Edward's chest. I wasn't going to get used to the Cullen's buying me things that easily. Alice always went way overboard with it all. I didn't get it.

"Alice just likes to buy things for people. It is one of the ways of how she shows affection. And she likes to buy things," Edward said, startling me. I looked up at him, shocked.

"I thought you said you couldn't read my mind!" I exclaimed, blushing at all of the thoughts he could have heard. I didn't even want to think about the sort of things he could have heard if he could read my mind.

"No, I can't," Edward said with a laugh. "You have no idea how frustrating that is. No I can read your face much easier now. It shows your thoughts well." I blushed more with that comment and hid in my hair. At least he couldn't read my mind. That was one small consolation. Edward smoothed it away from my face, and took hold of my chin, looking into my eyes. "Bex, you have no idea how much I love that I can tell you everything. That I am able to be myself with you..."

There was a but at the end of that sentence. I did not like buts. I narrowed my eyes at him, going full on glare mode. I did not want to hear him go into buts today. I wanted to go one day without a but in our conversation.

"But I will understand if this all gets too much. If you want to be away from me." there was a barely repressed pain in his voice. It hurt him to say this but he felt he had to so that I could leave if I wanted to. I almost laughed out loud at that idea.

"Edward Cullen," I said, imbuing my words with the sheer absurdity I was feeling at this idea. I thought that I was being very forceful. "Were you seriously not listening to me yesterday? I am sticking around. I could never want to get out of this relationship."

"The pizza is here," Alice trilled up the stairs. Edward stood up, taking me with him, and gently put me on my feet. We walked slowly down the stairs arms around each other, talking quietly. We got to the dining room and the one end was covered in pizza boxes and packets of chips. Alice rushed to my side and took my hand, pulling me after her and away from Edward.

"You can take any of the pizza you want, and the chips. Eat as much as you want."

I opened one of the boxes, and saw that it was a large ham deep crust. Then I opened the next and realised it was the same. I had to laugh. It was so insane. All this food for me? I wouldn't be able to eat it all. But I would have fun trying!

An icy voice cut through my contemplation of all the food on that table.

"What the hell is she is doing here?" the voice was ice cold bitch, full of accusation, hatred and anger. I saw Edward stiffen as he looked over my shoulder at the speaker. I turned slowly and looked straight into her vicious eyes. Rosalie.

**Please please review for me!!! i love reviews - they make me very very happy!!**


	17. Chapter 17: Seeing him again

Chapter Seventeen: Seeing Him Again

"Rose...." Emmett said as he walked through the door after her and put a hand on her arm. The tone of his voice was as if he was trying to get her to leave this situation, a kind of tired remonstrance. As if he was used to holding her back. She shook his hand off her arm violently.

"Rosalie you knew that Bex was coming over today." Alice said as she blurred to my side. I could feel that she was stiff by my side. I think that she was mad at Rosalie, it was hard to be totally sure, but the way she said Rosalie's name made me feel that their relationship was going through a frosty patch.

"That's why I made the effort to be away today. But I never actually thought that Edward would be so stupid to bring her here." the disgust was unmistakable in her voice. That annoyed me. Talking about me as if I wasn't there. That was one of the things which always got to me. I just thought that it was plain rude. Everything about this girl was already making me think she was rude and arrogant.

"Rosalie. There is nothing wrong with Bex being here." Edward finally said something. The anger was unconcealed in his voice, and I was fairly sure that he was fuming. Rosalie let out a harsh bark of laughter, in contempt.

"Well, let me think about what is not wrong with her being here. Oh, wait, I find that impossible. She's not one of us Edward, there is nothing remotely appealing about _her_. What the hell do you think you are doing? Because I am having trouble comprehending why you are having this facade of a relationship." That really annoyed me. She had crossed a line, and as much as she was the super strong vampire, I couldn't stay quiet any longer. There was only so much that I was prepared to take. She couldn't think that she could get away with comments like that.

"What is your problem with me Rosalie? We've never met before, yet you decide to hate me before even hearing me speak. That is something I am having trouble comprehending." I put emphasis on the words I and am. I wasn't going to let this cow make comments like that about my relationship with Edward, or about me. Her mouth fell open for a few moments, as if she hadn't expected me to defend myself. She closed it and started glaring straight at me.

"Why I don't like you is nothing to do with you, or this conversation." That made me laugh.

"This is nothing to do with me? this is all about me. what is your problem?" I asked her, not really understanding what she was saying. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the fact that she was making no sense at all.

"I want to know why Edward is being so stupid." The loathing was evident in her voice

"You think Edward is being stupid?" I was incredulous at that. "Are you even listening to yourself? Because you are sounding pretty idiotic yourself. But I hear idiocy is quite a common affliction for the mentally challenged." I heard a low whistle from Jasper as I said that. I could see Alice fighting not to start laughing out of the corner of my eye. Rosalie glared at me for a few more moments before storming up the stairs. I began to hear laughter all around me. Alice, Jasper and Edward were all laughing. And so was Emmett. That was surprising. I turned to look at him speculatively.

"Things are about to become very interesting around here," was all that he offered as an explanation. I shook my head, and sat down at the end of the table, re-opening a pizza box. I got slightly self conscious at all of the people in the room looking at me as I began eating.

"Okay, can you all stop staring please? It is slightly disconcerting."

Edward drove me home and then left to drop his car off, promising to be back as soon as possible. I took the chance to have a shower and get ready for bed, because I was completely worn out. As I climbed into my bed Edward appeared in my bedroom. He came and sat next to me, pulling me into his arms.

"Bex, I am...." he was interrupted by the phone ringing. He disappeared for a few moments, and then reappeared silently holding the phone out to me. I took it off him and held it to my ear, saying the standard greeting.

"Hello Bex," my mum said. This immediately got me worried, my mind spinning off into dangerous tangents.

"Hey Mum, what's up?"

"Nothing is wrong sweetie," Mum began. She explained to me that my brother's team had won the whole tournament, and had been invited to play another one which began on Sunday, one which was bigger with more teams. They didn't see the point in coming home to leave again on Tuesday night, and they would be back the Wednesday after. I would be home 'alone' for over a week, and my mother was worried that I wouldn't be okay.

"Mum, please, I will be absolutely fine, you know I will. Have fun, I will see you when you get back." I said, saying goodbye to her. I snuggled into Edward's chest putting the phone onto the side.

"Bex, I.." Edward was interrupted again as a phone rang, this time my mobile signally that I had got a text.

**Heya! You up for town tomorrow? Get lunch, and you can help me pick an outfit coz I got asked out! Xxx Mary-Alice xxX**

I quickly typed a response.

**That sounds good, meet at 1? Can't wait. Xxxxx**

"Sorry Edward, what were you trying to say?" I asked, trying not to laugh at the frustration which was evident on his face.

"Bex, I am sorry about Rosalie, she is just being really awkward and self obsessed," he paused there. "Actually when I think about it, she is acting like her normal self. I apologise for that."

I had to laugh. He was actually apologising for what she had done. I had actually found it quite funny.

"It's cool Edward. I found it quite funny that she felt she had to have an argument to be the centre of attention. Or at least that was the vibe I got from her."

"Yeah, Rosalie likes to be the centre of attention. She thrives on it."

I woke up the next morning feeling hideous. My alarm was screeching music at me, and I had to hit it several times to get it to shut up. Edward was smart enough to not laugh at me as I rolled out of my bed onto the floor. I sat there for a few moments, wincing as Edward turned the light on. My head was pounding, the start of a major headache.

"Edward, can you go down to the cupboard in the downstairs bathroom and get me some of the extra strength paracetamol tablets please," I said weakly as I pulled myself back up onto the bed. I had been prescribed these tablets by the doctor after a particularly vicious migraine had left my whole left side paralyzed. The whole idea of the tablets was to stop any headache before it turned into a migraine so that I didn't have to take my more aggressive migraine tablets or end up in the hospital. Edward was back in the room in seconds, switching the light off as he came back into the room. In his hands were a glass of water and the box of tablets. I pulled one strip from the box and pushed two tablets out on my hand, swallowing them quickly. I lay down again, and Edward lay next to me. I grabbed hold of his hand and put it onto my head, the cool skin immediately giving me some relief. He left his hand there, and took hold of the rest of me, holding me in his arms.

About two hours later I woke again, feeling so much better. The paracetamol had kicked in and left me feeling mostly normal. I got up, despite Edward's strenuous protests that I was not well enough to and went downstairs to get myself something to eat. I could feel Edward y my side each step of the way, silently disapproving what I was doing. I ignored him, concentrating on getting a bowl and not wasting any of the cereal.

"Bex, you really shouldn't be up," Edward said, clearly unable to keep to silent disapproval. He had to voice it now.

"Edward, I am fine. Stop being so damn over protective. So what, I get headaches. It's nothing. I deal with them It's not the end of the world."

"I saw your migraine medication in the cupboard. Paralysis is not nothing." I should have guessed that he had nosed about in the cupboard getting my paracetamol. It was so typical that he would understand all of the medical language.

"Edward, I got paralysed once. That's all. It has never got that far since then. I am not going to let you get so protective every time I get a headache. They happen. I live with it. I don't need you with me every minute of the day." His arms wrapped around me.

"I had no idea that you were such a fighter. So brave. My little lioness," he said, with a hint of pride in his voice.

I was in town early, after convincing Edward that he could leave me on my own, and that I would be alright driving myself about. I wasn't going to let him go get his car just to drive me into town. That was bordering on insanity, I had a perfectly good car, and I liked driving. I had dressed in another one of Alice's outfits today, this time a new pair of baggy blue jeans, a strappy purple top and a short grey knit cardigan that just reached my elbows. I carried my bag on my shoulder as I walked slowly around the shopping centre which was rapidly filling up. I felt two hands come down on my shoulders and turn me around. It was Dale, and standing behind him was Mary-Alice. I gasped and pulled Dale into a tight hug, surprised that he was there.

"Hey Dale! Mary-Alice!" I said enthusiastically. I realised then how much I had missed my normal friends in the last couple of days. "Dale, what are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to orchestra when I saw Mary-Alice on her own. I said that I would walk her to where she was meeting you, to give her some company and to see you. I missed you."

"I know Dale, it must have been what, three days?" I said jokingly.

"That is a lifetime to me Bex," Dale said lightly. "I have to get going, talk to you later." He walked off towards the theatre while Mary-Alice and I hugged and started to catch up.

"So, spill. Who asked you out?" I asked as we started to walk towards Topshop.

"Well you know that guy I told you about from youth club," she started. I heard that much before I got distracted. I caught a reflection I recognised in the window of a shop and turned my head slowly, my heart racing. It was definitely him. He was wearing the same clothes I had seen him in the last time, and inspired the same sort of reaction in me. He was staring at me. When he realised that I had seen him he smiled. Slowly his lip curled back until his face was mangled into a terrifying grimace. His sharp teeth flashed under the neon lights which lit up the centre. Then his attention quickly shifted to Mary-Alice by my side. His face turned inquisitive as he scrutinised her. Then he disappeared from the centre.

After that I tried to act normal, to be an ordinary teenager out on shopping trip, but I was always alert, not relaxed. I was looking out for the vampire all of the time. I think that Mary-Alice could tell that there was something wrong, but she didn't ask me anything. We got her a dress for the date which was that night, and I listened as she told me about when he asked her out. They were going to the cinema, and then getting something to eat. I felt really paranoid as I scrutinised every brown haired man who walked past me, just in case it was him.

By the time Mary-Alice left me to go get ready for her date I was a nervous wreck. I had to call Edward. So much for my "I am able to care for myself" speech. I needed him with me right then. I pulled out my phone and typed in his number which I had already memorised. He answered after one ring.

"Bex?" his response was formed like a question.

"Edward, I need you with me now," I murmured into the phone desperately.

"I will be there straight away." With that he put the phone down and left me on my own. I walked quickly down the crowded walkway to one of the entrances to the shopping centre. It was only a few more minutes and he was there with me. I grabbed hold of him and clung on, desperate for the feeling of protection he gave me.

"Bex, what happened? Where is Mary-Alice?" Edward said, worry creeping into his voice. He put his arms around me, but I could see him looking around, assessing everyone's mind around us for any harmful thoughts, judging everyone's faces for potential threats.

"I saw him again." Edward knew who I meant. He took hold of me and began walking towards the car park, deceptively calm. I could only tell that he was angry by the way his hands were balled up. He kept of shaking his head, almost as if he was trying to get better reception.

"Damn it," he cursed. "There are too many minds around. I can't get a fix on where he might be. He could be anywhere."

We got home and I looked at the clock. It was 6 o'clock, and despite the dose of fear I had just had, I was feeling restless. I needed the feeling of adrenaline pumping through my veins. I dropped my hand bag in the hall way and walked up to my room. I started getting a large rucksack out of my cupboard.

"Where are you going, Bex?" Edward asked me as he walked through my bed room door. I pulled my sparring mitts, leg guards and head guard out of a draw, making sure I had all of the sparring gear with me.

"I am going to karate. I am not going to sit around the house tonight going stir crazy. You can come with me if you want," I informed him of my plans in a calm voice. I pulled one of my sleeveless gym tops from the draw, along with my karate suit. The suit was made up of a black pair of trousers which had a thick green stripe running down the side and a loose top which came down to mid thigh. It had short sleeves which were edged in green and a v neck which also had a green edging on it. My name was written in golden curlicue lettering just above my heart. "Edward, can I have some privacy please?" I asked pointedly.

I think if he had been able to blush he would have right then as he walked out of the room embarrassed. I chuckled and quickly changed, tying my brown and black belt around my waist. I was one belt away from black first dan, and had just got my current belt at the last grading. I brushed my hair back and tied it into a high ponytail, the only thing left loose was my side fringe.

"What would I be expected to do if I came," Edward asked as I carried the bag out of the room and down the stairs.

"Nothing, you can sit and watch. I assumed that you weren't going to leave me on my own, which I am grateful for, so I figured you could come to karate. Andy will give me some stick for you being there though."

"Who is Andy?" Edward asked as I grabbed my car keys.

"The instructor at karate. He has really crappy jokes and thinks he is hilarious." I was serious. His jokes were like the sort you got on the back of penguin wrappers and on . I was sure that he would be able to create that website all on his own.

"He sounds interesting."

"I will let you be the judge of that,"

We got the village hall where the karate classes were held in about 15 minutes. The earlier class hadn't finished yet, so all of the people in the more advanced class were waiting outside, including my two closest friends at karate. Rach and Beca were twins who were a year older than me. They were currently taking a gap year to be able to make up the funds to be able to pay for university. Their reaction when I walked through the door with Edward was priceless. In unison their identical faces dropped into open mouthed awe. Some of that could be to do with the fact that we were walking with our arms around each other, talking quietly. Then G, one of the older men noticed us.

"Well look who we have here," he said jokingly, raising his eyebrows. "who is this Bex?"

"I dunno, G, I picked him up on the streets," I teased back. That was how we all were at karate. There was a sort of comfortable mockery which we all took part in. We had all been in the advanced class together for years now. "This is Edward."

"Hi Edward," G said boldly as he held out his hand. They shook hands, and G looked back at me. "He treating you right?"

"Course he is. G do you really think I would put up with a guy who didn't treat me right?"

"No I can't really see that happening." He laughed as he looked Edward up and down, taking in the toned body which wasn't really being hidden by the loose shirt and jeans. "Are you taking part Edward?"

I laughed as Edward took his time to answer.

"You have to be kidding right? Edward and physical exercise other than baseball. That is very rare," I laughed, saving Edward from coming up with an excuse.

"I see," G murmured as Beca and Rach finally got enough guts to come over to the two of us. They were so incredibly identical. They both had the same blonde hair, cut into an edgy short bob, and hazel eyes. They had small freckles lightly dusting their noses and high cheek bones. Only someone like me who had known them for years would be able to tell the difference. Beca had chicken pox scars above her left eye, and Rach had a slightly thinner face. They were about the same height as me, and so had to look up to see Edward's face.

"Heya," they said in unison, both laughing at the same time at the coincidence. They did that a lot, speaking at the same time and completing each other's sentences.

"Hey Beca, Hi Rach," I said, hugging them both in turn. "How's things been?"

"They are alright. Me and Ben have now been together for two years officially," Beca said as Andy threw the doors open and small children in karate uniforms came rushing out to their parents. We walked through the masses and put our bags onto the side, grabbing purses and attendance cards. We walked up to the front desk where Andy was taking money for that night's session, chatting amiably about life in general.

When we got to the desk Andy looked Edward up and down, and then grinned evilly at me.

"So Bex, finally decided to bring your boyfriend around for us to take a look at then?" he asked cheekily. Andy was in his late forties, and had short grey spiky hair. He was a lovely guy, but could also be incredibly frightening. He was the only forth Dan black belt in Hampshire, and had been doing karate for over three decades. Something like that inspires admiration and fear in equal doses.

"Well Andy, why would I deprive him of your delightful company? Andy, this is Edward, Edward this is Andy," I introduced them, and waited for the mockery to begin. Surprisingly Andy took in Edward's protective stance by my side and laughed.

"I don't think that you are going to need to protect Bex much mate," he said as he walked to the front of the class.

I rushed and put my stuff down and them turned to face Edward.

"go and sit on the stage, and for hells sake please do not break anything if you don't like what you hear, okay? I like this place, and don't need you ruining anything." Edward nodded and pulled my into a quick hug before walking up to the stage at the front of the room. I took my place in the middle of the front line as we all bowed to the front of the room.

We did a quick warm up of jogging and skipping, getting ready for the session. Soon we were ready to get to the real karate. We all stood in left fighting stance, with our hands up in front of us, the laft hand slightly more forward, and the left leg forward.

"Sequences first. Snap punch, reverse, on step, front kick, roundhouse kick, back kick, elbow strike back fist reverse." Andy shouted out as he walked around the class. As one unit we started the sequence. First was a snap punch with the , which was a straight out punch which aimed to hit the nose or the windpipe. Then came the reverse punch, which was aimed at the stomach with the back arm. Then, after taking one step forward to change stance into right fighting stance, I kicked out with my front leg. Pivoting on my leg on the floor I changed it into a roundhouse kick, hitting the imaginary adversary with the top of my foot. I put that foot down and twisted around, striking with the sole of my back foot in the traditional back kick. I struck out with my elbow then bought my fist up, as if to hit the enemy on the opposite temple. Then to finish the pattern came another reverse punch.

The session proceeded like that, with occasionally shouted remarks from Andy:

"If you do not move that foot into place then I have a hammer and six inch nails in my car which I will use to make sure that foot is permanently in the right place!"

"Put some effort into it. This is not a joke class for monkeying about"

"If your legs are that close together in a stance then an adversary will just come and push you over. like that, you see?"

"That is pathetic. Doing that is not going to even make jelly tremble!"

"Stop being an arse. This is not time for mucking about."

"Do you really think that is hitting the bag? Hit it as if your life depends on it. It does!"

We got to do bag work, which was made up of hitting a punch bag as hard as you could with a variety of punches, kicks and strikes. I loved doing bag work, it was a great way to work off frustration and anger, as well as stress. It was also very satisfying making a man who was twice my side stumble back because he was holding the bag when I had hit it with a particularly powerful kick. It was good to get back to karate, to be able to hit and know that I was in control. Here I was able to defend myself. Here I was not going to be completely outclassed.

When we walked out of the class I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and flipped it open, noticing that it was Laura.

"Hello," I said as we got into my car, Edward in the driving seat.

"Bex," Laura sounded like she had been crying. That got me worried. "Mary-Alice has been attacked!"

**i know that was a mahoosive chapter - i hope this makes up for waiting so long. Please please review!!!!!!**


	18. Chapter 18: MaryAlice

**Hi guys i am so sorry you have had to await so long for this chapter - i hope it will be worth it. My exams are completely over now so i am hoping to post a new chapter every two or three days, as i have a couple ready to post**

Chapter Eighteen: Mary-Alice

I walked quickly down the hospital corridor with Edward by my side, my head spinning round and round. I couldn't help but let my mind spin to dark avenues. I was thinking about the day, about who could possibly want to attack Mary-Alice. I kept dwelling on when I had seen him in the shopping centre, wondering if he had anything to with what had happened to Mary-Alice. I kept telling myself that vampires did not do things like this, that he would have killed her as soon as her blood was spilt. As appalling as it sounded, I was hoping that it had been a normal person who had done this to her. If it had been him then I don't think that I would be able to handle the guilt. If it had been him then it would have been my fault that he chose her.

As we rushed around the corner to Mary-Alice's room I saw Laura and Jackson sitting together outside the room. Laura stood up as soon as she saw me and grabbed hold of me, pulling me into a hug. I held her tightly, desperately trying to hold in the tears I had been repressing.

"You can come in and see her now if you want," a familiar doctors voice said as the door opened. I looked over Laura's shoulder and saw Carlisle sticking his head out of the door. He seemed surprised by mine and Edward's presence, but he made no comments. I let go of Laura, and she walked back over to Jackson, who took her into his arms. Edward came and stood beside me, and I leant against him as I walked.

What greeted us was a sight that would be burnt into my head forever more. Mary-Alice covered in plaster and bruises, her short hair all over the place, her eyes ringed with more bruises. She looked haunted. I looked up at Edward, and was shocked by the anger on his face. Clearly something in her memories had told him more than the rest of us could know.

"Carlisle, what happened to her?" I heard myself choke out as I looked at her. How could anyone do that to pure, sweet Mary-Alice? Laura looked at me in confusion for a moment, and then took in the similarities between Edward and Carlisle, then nodded, as if she was understanding something new.

"Don't worry she is stable and after surgery she should be a lot better. Both of her legs have been broken, some ribs, one of her arms, and there is an incredible amount of bruising. There was some internal bleeding. Her throat is also very bruised, and so she should not speak much. I am afraid that you can't stay for long as it is after visiting hours. Edward, please could I have a word?" Carlisle asked as he motioned to the doorway. Edward pressed his lips softly to my head, and then walked swiftly to the door. I forced myself to move forward and sit in a chair which was next to Mary-Alice's head.

"Ally, what happened to you?" Laura asked in a quiet, horrified voice. Mary-Alice turned her head towards us painfully and tried to smile.

"You guys shouldn't worry," she whispered hoarsely. I raised my eye brows and looked at her sceptically. Shouldn't worry about her. Right. "I was walking home after my date and got caught on one of the empty streets. He was just stood there, waiting for me. I tried to run, but he caught me. He hurt me, and then he said that it was my friend's fault. He said my friend was juggling with fire and ice, and that he would ensure that she got burnt." I froze for a moment. It had to be him.

Edward walked back into the room and took in the expression on my face. He immediately took me into his arms and held me to his chest. I just looked at Ally, horrified that this was all my fault. I felt Edward stiffen as he started to read Ally's mind, and what had happened. Carlisle walked back into the room and looked at some charts at the bottom of Ally's bed. He looked up at the group of us.

"I am afraid that because it is after visiting hours you are going to have to leave. Don't worry, Mary-Alice will be taken care of. You can see her tomorrow." Carlisle said quietly, but firmly, with his no nonsense doctor's way. We all nodded and filed out of the room slowly. Me and Edward walked with Jackson and Laura as far as the car park, and then split off to our separate cars.

Half an hour later I found myself in the Cullen house, waiting for the rest of them to get back from a hunting trip. I was sitting on one of the leather sofas, curled up in a ball while Edward paced up and down in front of me. He was clearly agitated, but would not tell me what was wrong, claiming that he did not want to have to tell the story more than once. Carlisle was on his way back from the hospital, he just had to check at a few patients.

Rosalie was the first person to blur into the front room, and she took in my face with obvious distaste. Emmett was the next, and was closely followed by Esme, Alice and Jasper. None of them appeared to be surprised by my presence; thought Alice took in Edward's face with a look of consternation. She knew more about all of this than the rest of us did. As Edward and Alice stared at each other Carlisle walked slowly through the door.

"What is this about Edward?" Rosalie was the first to break the silence. For once I was grateful for her presence.

"There is a vampire on the hunt for Bex." The way he said it, with such anger and deadly malice, made it clear that this was one of the most repugnant things to ever happen. As I heard his words my throat began to close up and I found it harder to breathe. This was what pure unadulterated fear felt like. I heard Alice and Emmett hiss quietly. "He attacked one of Bex's friends tonight to get our attention. I saw in her memories exactly what he did and said. He told her that her close friend was to blame for what was happening. He said that her friend was playing with fire and ice, and that he was going to ensure that she was going to get burnt."

"He did not just attack Mary-Alice," Carlisle interrupted, his voice full of disgust at the vampires actions. "What he did was a carefully calculated onslaught. He drove her to the brink of death, always careful that there was no blood spilt. He broke her bones, and caused internal bleeding, but always avoided the major organs. He left her just alive enough to send his message."

I think that at that point everyone shrunk away from what he was saying. I don't think that it was the attack which horrified the vampires. I was under no illusions. I knew that most of them had taken at least one life in their time as a vampire. No, it was how calculated, how detached the attack had been which sickened them then. Vampires attacked when they were hungry, either violently or relatively humanely. They never attacked and left the victim alive.

"We need to get Bex to somewhere safe, somewhere where he cannot get to her. I will get a plane and take her to America, or somewhere where he won't expect." Edward was certain of this course of action.

"That won't work." I said in a detached tone. My voice was strangely dead. "He won't come after me straight away. He will go after my family, and then after that he will hunt down every single person I care about. He will take all of them, and then come after me."

"I don't care about that. We are enough that we can look after your family and friends. My priority is you." Edward said passionately.

"No, Edward. You are not. It will only take one opportunity for him to slip through the net and get someone I care about. I will not let someone else get hurt because of me!" I was shouting at Edward, desperate for him to understand the guilt I was feeling.

"What do you suggest then Bex?" his anger was as deadly as it was quiet. I stood my ground, looking him clearly in his ochre eyes.

"We lead him away from here. Let him know we are going somewhere else."

"That just puts you in more danger!"

"I do not care!" I shouted, emphasising every word. "That is better than seeing someone I care about in a hospital bed, or a morgue!" Another voice interrupted our argument.

"How does this affect the rest of us?" Rosalie said. We all looked towards her at that point. She was stood next to Emmett, her arm territorially on his arm.

"Rosalie, Bex is part of this family now." Esme said as she walked across and laid a gentle hand on my arm.

"So? She is not a member of my family. She is a menace, just endangering our life here." Rosalie glared at me confrontationally, and stepped forward into the light of the room.

"Rosalie," Carlisle said in a no nonsense tone as he stood up. "Bex is part of our family, and we protect our own." I felt warm with that simple statement. I was seen as part of this strange family, and I was happy about that. I wanted to be part of this family, a part of their life.

"Edward we have to do what Bex says. I can see that if we do what you want to do he will kill everyone in this town. He won't care about being caught." Alice said quietly, her eyes glazed over, seeing something that we could not. Edward snarled and grabbed hold of my shoulders.

"Bex, listen to me. If we do this, you could get killed." His voice contained muted agony which seared my heart. His pain was mine.

"Edward, if we don't do this then everyone I care about dies. We need to go back to my house."

"Why?"

"I need to call my parents and tell them that you have surprised me with a holiday. Then I will pack some stuff and you can take me wherever the hell you want to. This guy just has to know where we are going. Otherwise it won't work."

"He will be there. He is planning on surprising you when Edward leaves to put his car away. He has been watching you." Edward snarled and let go of me abruptly. I stood unsteady and had to take in a few deep breaths.

"Let's get this over with. You will call your parents and say that I am taking you to Blackpool for the rest of the week. Then we will leave and go away."

"What about if me and Jasper take her, Edward? Then you would get a chance to get rid of this vampire, and Bex would be safe. I think he realises that you would never leave her, so he would follow you." Alice spoke quietly with an easy reassurance. She had seen all of this happening, or so I assumed.

"No!" Edward snarled grabbing hold of me again. His emotions were so violent, so unpredictable, I didn't know whether he was going to hug me or attack me.

"Edward, it makes sense," I said wearily. "You know it does."

"I don't want to let you out of my sight. Not after this!"

"Edward calm down," Jasper said slowly as I felt a wave of calm settle through my whole body. Edward glared at Jasper and then inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. After a few seconds he opened them again, and he seemed different. His eyes were colder and his face was frozen blank.

"We will do it your way. Bex, Lets go. I will take you to your house in my car, and then we can come back here. The rest of you should get ready." He spoke to the rest of the family as he said this. He took hold of my hand and pulled me towards the door. "Bex you need to act happy."

Good thing I was a good liar. Acting and lying amounts to the same thing really. If you can act you can lie. If you can lie you can act. We walked out to the car and I wrapped my arm around Edward's waist. I smiled up at him and shook a strand of hair out of my face.

"Let's go Edward. I think that this will be fine." I took hold of his hand, which was rigid in a fist and kissed the cold marble skin. I would not get to do that for some time. He looked down at me with an unfathomable look on his face. For some reason that scared me. We walked at a normal pace to where Edward had left the car and I got into it, feeling the cold leather against my back. In all of the commotion I had forgotten that I was still in my karate gear. So much had happened that being at karate with the comfortable familiarity seemed like it had been days ago, instead of hours.

As soon as we got to my house and I had unlocked the door I picked up the cordless phone. I typed in the familiar mobile number and waited patiently for my dad to pick the phone up.

"Hello?" my dad's voice almost made me start crying. I think that it was that moment when I realised that I missed my family.

"Hey dad," I said, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. I had to be convincing, I reminded myself. "So how are you enjoying the tournament? How are our boys doing?"

"They are doing great Bex, and we are having a great time! The only thing which is missing is you." I loved my dad so much, and I hated lying to him. It would be worse to lie to my mum though.

"I know, you have no idea how much I wish I was there with you all," in the realms of normal, I wanted to say. I wanted to be with my family, unaware of the mythical world of monsters which I now inhabited. "So listen dad. Edward has invited me to go with his family to Blackpool for the rest of the week."

"That sounds fun. Who is going?"

"Edward's dad, his mum, his sister and brother and the twins who his mum fosters." I was glad that I had thought of playing the family card. My dad could not object to a family holiday.

"When do you go?" my dad wanted the specifics.

Twenty minutes later I got off the phone from him, mentally worn out from the conversation. The last thing I had said to him was the fact that I loved him, mum and my brother. I was fighting back tears as I put the phone back in the cradle. As I had talked to my dad I had packed a bag which had enough clothes for the rest of the week theoretically. Edward had not spoken once throughout the phone conversation, though it was obvious that he was impatient. He left the room as I changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a warm turtleneck jumper. I walked out my bedroom; Edward was waiting outside the bedroom. He slung my bag over his shoulder, and then put his arm around my shoulder. I locked the door and walked out to the car.

When we got back to the house everyone was in a flurry of activity. Alice had piled the cars with bags, and typical holiday stuff, to keep up appearances. Everyone had changed clothes, and Alice threw a jumper at me.

"Change into this. Rosalie will wear your jumper to make it look like you are going with Edward. He is going to have to change car as we are driving." I nodded and changed my jumper, throwing mine to Alice as I put the other on. When my head poked out of the Rosalie was wearing my jumper and looked very sullen about it. We walked out of the door, and all of the Cullens were laughing together. Jasper and Emmett were even mock fighting, throwing punches at each other. Rosalie put her arm through Alice's and smiled down on the pixie. Alice was laughing delightedly at the thought of going away as a family. Carlisle and Esme walked hand in hand, looking with humour down at their eclectic family. I just walked with Edward, trying to look as normal. I was astounded by what the Cullen's were doing. It was if they had to evade dangerously unstable vampires every day. We all piled into two different cars, me and Edward in with Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme.

"Bex we are going to have to change cars as soon as we get under cover. I am going to carry you, and then am going to get back into this car." I looked up at him, startled by this plan. Jumping from one moving car to another did not feel safe to me. As he looked down on me a phone rang in his pocket. He flipped it open and held it to his ear for a few moments.

Carlisle looked back from the driving seat and exchanged a long glance with Edward. He nodded and then looked back to the road. Edward put down the phone and looked back to me.

"That was Alice. The vampire is far enough behind now. Get ready." I was as ready as I was ever going to be, which was not that ready really. I nodded and put my arms around his neck, tightening my grip to the point where it should have been painful for him. I lifted my legs up and wrapped them around his waist. He held onto my waist with one hand and flung the door open. He jumped.

**i hope that you enjoyed that chapter and i would really really really apreciate if you would review for me!!!**


	19. Chapter 19: Evasion

Chapter Nineteen: Evasion

We landed in the other car in a matter of milliseconds. Alice had held the door open and Edward had dived through it. I had landed underneath him, his gentle hands holding me safely to his body. Alice pulled the door closed and the lithely climbed into the front seat. I looked up at Edward, realising that the moment of our parting was almost inevitably upon us. I unhooked my legs from around him, but pulled myself closer into his arms. He held me tightly, burying his face in my hair.

"Oh God, Edward," I whispered, closing my eyes as my tears fell on his shirt. "Oh God, Edward. What if something happens to you?"

"Nothing will happen to me!" he whispered fiercely into my ear. "Look after yourself. Worry about yourself!"

"But what if something does happen Edward?" I whispered as I buried my face into his neck, smelling his skin for what could possibly be the last time. But I could not think like that. If I did then I would just break down right there, and that was not an option. I had to maintain some semblance of control.

"Bex, do not worry!" he said fiercer than before and he held me tight to his chest. I was holding him so tight that I probably would have choked a normal person. I did not want to let go. If I did then he would disappear and I would be left with the fear for his life.

"I love you Edward," I wept. I pulled away from his shoulder and kissed his face, making it wet with my salty tears.

"Bex, I will do whatever I have to in order to ensure you are safe. I love you," he whispered before sealing my mouth with his. We had one short moment where our lips joined, and then he was gone. His hands left my waist and opened the door. Then he jumped out. I coughed out tears for a few moments and then sat back in the seat. I fastened my seatbelt and looked out of the window at the car which turned at the next turning.

Alice's phone rang suddenly. I jumped, surprised by the loud sound interrupting the quiet which had been beating down on me. She picked the phone up and held it to her ear.

"Okay Emmett, thanks." She put the phone down and looked back at me. "Edward can hear the vampire. He still thinks that you are in the other car. Bex, it is going to work out, okay? Esme and Rosalie are going to get out at the next service station and run to Exeter to keep an eye on your family." I sighed with relief. At least they would be protected. I took a deep breath and quietly sank into oblivion. The blackness was more comfortable than any reality I would face in the next few hours.

When I woke up I was in an unfamiliar room. I was in a double bed in what could only be a service station bed and breakfast. It appeared to be a very expensive service station bed and breakfast, if the walls and the bed were anything to judge it by. I stood up and pulled the bed covers off me, stretching out my aching muscles. They were complaining from the fact that I had slept in a tight ball. I stood up and felt my jeans digging into my waist. I had slept in my clothes obviously. I wondered where Alice and Jasper were as I picked up my mobile and turned it on. The clock on the home screen read 16:25. I had been asleep for a total of seventeen hours.

"Hey Bex," I quiet but cheerful voice trilled through the door. I looked up to see Alice carrying a tray of food which exuded a nearly irresistible scent of meat and vegetables. My stomach groaned in anticipation. I realised it had been almost twenty four hours since I had last eaten. Alice smiled at the sound

"Edward mentioned that you would need more food than we do." I almost jumped across the room to her.

"Edward called?" I asked hopefully and watched carefully as her face fell ever so slightly.

"No. He told me when we were at home." That made my face fall, even as I reached out robotically for the food. Alice took hold of my hand and dragged me into the main room, balancing the tray gracefully on one hand, as if she was a born waitress. "I ordered the chef's special for your lunch."

"To be honest Alice, right now I would not care if it were bread and water. I am so hungry." I sat down and Alice put the tray in front of me. I started to cut the piece of beef, which was swimming in gravy. "Where are we?"

"We are on our way to Wales at the moment. We are in a hotel which is attached to a garage. Me and Jasper decided that we wanted to stop in when we realised that you had fainted and were not waking up. We got here at about twelve last night." Wales? That brought back memories from my childhood, faint hazy ones, but ones which were happy and filled with rain. Rain appeared to be the defining weather in my life. I did not really want to mar those memories with the unpleasant circumstances I found myself in.

"Why are we going to Wales?" I asked in between bites. To anyone outside I would appear to be calm. In fact I was a wreck. I mean, I had fainted about seventeen hours before because of the stress. Of course I was not dealing with it. But I had to pretend. I had to cloak my emotions, otherwise Jasper would realise that I was freaking out. And I did not want him meddling with my emotions.

"Edward suggested it." Of course he did. He knew everything about me. Of course he would suggest somewhere which was even a bit familiar to me. "He said that you would know a place where we could stay."

"Yeah, we can stay at my great aunt's. She has been begging me to bring some friends down for months." Yet another person I would put in danger.

"That will be fine..." Jasper broke off as Alice suddenly went rigid and her eyes went blank. He grabbed hold off her shoulders and sat her down next to me. "What is it Alice?"

"A room. He is in a room." She said, her voice strangely strained. Jasper jumped up and disappeared for a moment, before reappearing holding a piece of paper and a pencil. He put the pencil in Alice's hand and the paper down in front of her. She began sketching roughly in bold strokes. The room she outlined looked eerily like the sports hall at my college, with the basketball nets at either side of the gym, and the dark line painted on the floor. There was even the scoreboard high above the gym floor, with red numbers fixed in lights above the words 'home' and 'away'. She sketched a man in the middle of the floor and a few faceless people huddled at the back of the room.

"It looks like the sports hall at college," I said idly, as I wondered who the people were. Jasper's head snapped up to look at me.

"This is at our college?"

"Yeah, it is through the main doors next to the gym. Well, it looks like our gym. I suppose most colleges and schools would have a gym like that. The scoreboard was the thing which struck me as familiar. Who are the people?"

"I don't know," Alice said shortly as she closed and opened her eyes again. She could no longer see the room obviously. I felt like she was holding something back. "I know the vampire is there, which will mean that he isn't fooled anymore. He has made a decision which will lead him to this room and these people. Before this I just saw him chasing the other car and the others ambushing him. Now he is apparently going to make his way to here."

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I flipped it open, realising that I still had it. The caller id said it was Edward. I held it to my ear eagerly.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Bex, it's me," I almost melted then. Hearing his voice gave me tangible proof that he was okay. "Bex, he has left the trail. He knows that you are not with us anymore. Me, Emmett and Carlisle are trying to figure out what we are going to do now. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Edward I am fine. I am just very worried."

"Bex," his voice sounded very frustrated. "Don't worry about me love. Now, can you hand the phone to Alice, because I need to talk to her."

"Okay Edward, I love you," I was reluctant to hand the phone to Alice, to relinquish the one thing which made me feel even a little bit safe. In giving up the phone I had to give up his voice again. I wanted to string out our conversation for longer, but could not think of any way I could do that.

"I love you too Bex," I handed the phone mutely to Alice and then walked slowly to the bedroom to grab some different clothes. I felt disgusting in my clothes which I had been all night, and needed a shower. I carried a new t-shirt, underwear and jeans into the bathroom and turned the shower on. The hot water was very therapeutic. It eased my aching muscle, and washed away the grime I had accumulated from my exertions the night before. I concentrated on relaxing my muscles and not thinking. At all. The hot water felt good, but I longer for the cold of his arms, of his strong marble arms which would protect me from anything.

I stood in the shower until the hot water began to sting my skin. I stepped out and wrapped a towel around me, then got dressed. The new clothes felt so much cleaner and I felt much better in myself. I carried the old clothes and put them into my overnight bag before walking out into the main room. Alice and jasper were sat on the sofa watching a sitcom on the television. Or rather they were looking at the television. They were too stiff, and their heads automatically flashed to me when I walked in. They had put it on for some sort of company, rather than hearing the oppressive silence. Odd. I thought the vampires felt no need to fill the silence. I guess that I had just assumed that they could amuse themselves with their infinite senses.

"What did Edward say?" I asked them quietly as I sat down on the chair next to the television. On the screen someone in a blue scrubs fell over and the studio audience found it hilarious. I was numb to the effect of humour. I just wanted this living nightmare to end, so that I could be with Edward again, and feel safe in his cold embrace.

"He just told us what happened." She was hiding something from me. I could recognise that in Alice, the minute difference in her face and the way her shoulders rolled back slightly, as if she was bracing herself for when I called her out on it. I wouldn't though. I had a feeling that I did not want to know what she was hiding for me. I could not build up enough curiosity to ask her. She passed me my phone and I put it into my pocket. "We are going to stay put here, until Edward calls again. He, Emmett and Carlisle are going to chase up some leads. Oh yeah, he said that Esme and Rosalie have got to Exeter and are looking after your family. They are fine"

I breathed a long sigh of relief at that. At least they were being looked out for. Hopefully by the end of the week this would all be over, and they would be able to get back to a safe house. A thing which the house should always have been, but to me now it represented how easy it would be for a vampire to get in. My family would be untroubled by red eyes and the thought of people sneaking into the house in the night to kill one of them. I would carry these thoughts with me, even if I did manage to make it out of this mess. In some ways I would always be scarred. I looked at the drawing which was laid out on the desk and realised something about the people in the picture. The ones in the corner were huddled together as if they were all scared, or were being forced to sit there. There had to be something more to this picture than Alice was telling me. She might not know who they were but she did know what they were doing. I got the feeling that it was not a social gathering. I looked back at the television, desperate for a distraction of some sort. I watched the show mindlessly. I did not take anything in.

It got dark quickly and I was soon drawn to the bedroom to get more sleep. It impressed me that even with the amount of sleep I had got I still needed more. Alice came walking into the room with me, obviously taking her role as guard dog seriously, following me everywhere. I was suddenly glad that she did not feel the need to follow me into the bathroom when I was having my shower. I lay down on the bed and tried to get to sleep.

I woke up to complete blackness in the room. Alice was no longer lying next to me, and all of the curtains were pulled tightly closed. I groaned and rolled over, trying to find out what the time was. It was five in the morning. As I rolled to get out of bed Alice danced through the door. I rolled my eyes and got to my feet reluctantly.

"I heard that you were up and so wanted to come and see if you wanted anything." She trilled loudly. I had forgotten what she was like in the morning when it should be quiet.

"Alice!" I moaned at her as I picked my glasses up from the bedside. "Quiet time please. I have only just woken up!"

She just laughed at this – loudly, might I add and grabbed hold of my hand. She pulled me into the living room and sat me down on the sofa opposite Jasper. I glared at her, and Jasper did something I had never heard him do. He laughed.

"Alice, Bex is feeling particularly murderous this morning, so I wouldn't push her," he said jokingly to his little pixie. He laughed appreciatively and I sat there bleary eyed.

"Why have you dragged me here Alice?" I asked her, trying to force my eyelids to stay open.

"We needed to talk to you and I got bored of waiting. You were up so I figured that you would be able to talk to us." Stupid happy hyperactive pixie. I nodded, too tired to come up with some sort of cutting response. "So, as soon as room service opens up for the day we are going to order you some breakfast. Then we are going to check out and wait for a phone call from Edward. Once he has called us then we will set off to your aunt's. Once we get there then it is a whole new game plan. Got it?"

"Yes Alice I got it. Now I am going to lie back down. When room service opens up order me some eggs and come wake me up again, okay." She nodded very seriously, and under normal circumstances I would have laughed, if I weren't so tired. I did not get why I was tired. It must have been the stress of the last couple of day, coupled with the late nights I had been having. I stood up and slowly walked back into the bedroom. When I got there I collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to get into a normal position or even to lie underneath the covers.

It must have been a couple of hours later when Alice breezed into the room and gently shook my shoulders. This time when I woke up I felt much more awake, and more revitalised. I smelt the delicious aroma of eggs coming from the other room and slowly followed it through. On the table sat a plate of scrambled eggs. I sat down and began eating.

Alice hovered by my side for a few moments and then went to sit by Jasper. I was concentrating on eating, but could see out of the corner of my eye how tense the two of them were. They were both looking at the clock on the television, watching the minutes tick past slowly.

They sat there for half an hour watching as the numbers changed to exactly ten o'clock. Then they both jumped up simultaneously.

"Me and Jasper have to go sign out of the hotel. Are you going to be okay in here on your own?" she asked me as her eyes went blank. She was obviously scanning the future looking for some kind of event which would happen in the next few minutes. When nothing came up her eyes brightened again and she grinned. "Nope, nothing. You will be perfectly fine. You should pack up."

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I nodded to Alice absentmindedly. As she left the room I pulled my phone out and looked at it. I saw that the phone read Kerry's number. I looked at it, confused, for a few moments, and then flipped it open. I was wondering what Kerry would want as I walked out of the room into the bedroom. I closed the door and listened to the heavy breathing on the other side of the phone. It did not sound like Kerry at all.

"Kerry?" I asked a hint of a question in my voice

"Hello my dear," a chillingly pleasant voice said on the other end of the phone. It was him.

**Really really really would love some reviews!!! pretty please with edward on top!!!**


	20. Chapter 20: Hostages

**So here is the next chapter for you guys, hope you enjoy it**

Chapter Twenty: Hostages

I breathed slowly for a moment as my head caught up with what had just happened. I had answered a call from Kerry's phone and had heard the vampire.

"My dear, I hope you are not thinking about saying anything silly or shouting for anyone. As you must have realised I am calling from your friend's phone. This could mean several things. I could have stolen the phone. She could have lent it to me. Or I could have her in my company. I must say, she is a delightful young woman, and smells delicious. Of course, she does not smell as good as your friend Mary-Alice. She is simply mouth watering. Now, do you want to know what I want?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Well of course you do sweetheart. Everyone wants to know what I want today. I have lost count of the amount of times I have heard the words 'what do you want?' today. I am finding that particular phrase quite irritating now," his gentile tone and endearments, coupled with his typical English accent conflicted with what he was saying. It confused me. "I want you to come back home and see me, dear one. We have much to discuss. Now I am sure you need some sort of motivation at the moment. I am getting the feeling that you don't want to spend time with me. I have no idea why. Now listen very closely. I have some of your very close friends here."

I started to say something, but he shushed me.

"Now, there, no talking. I understand that you crave reassurance that I actually have your friends and am not tricking you in any way. Well listen away. I am fairly sure this will convince you." I heard the sound of him moving and the phone being passed to someone else. I was desperate for it to be some sort of lie, a recording, but I knew in my heart that he was the sort who would not care for maintaining life. He would kidnap who he wanted to, and no one would have been able to get away from him, even if they had been left any kind of opening. For a moment I wondered how he had kidnapped my friends. Then I got distracted by the voice on the phone.

"Bex," I heard a weak voice murmur. Mary-Alice. "It's the guy who attacked me. He took me out of the hospital and brought me here. He brought us all here."

I listened in horror as the vampire took the phone back and began listing names. How could he do that to her? Take her from the hospital where she should have felt safe. How could he kidnap all of the people he had and no one notice? How?

"I have many of your friends my dear. Mary-Alice, Laura, Kelly, Kerry, Jackson, Mitchell, Leanne, Taylor. They will all die if you do not come here. I will shoot them and rip them to pieces. There will be nothing left." I heard cries in the background. They were all scared out of their minds. All because of me. "I am going to give you a chance to talk to a few people, and maybe they will help you make up your mind."

"Holy shit Bex, he has a gun! God, help us. Tell someone. No one knows we are here! Don't come here on your own. Bex, help us!" Laura cried into the phone. Her voice ripped into my heart. In the four years I had known her I had never heard her so broken. I could just imagine her face. She never swore. This had got to her and she was scared and it was all because of me. I heard the noise of a phone being passed along to another person. Then I heard another voice I was dreading.

"Bex, listen to me. Don't come here," I heard a loud crack as Dale was hit in the face, presumably by the vampire, for not saying what he was told to. I cried out for him. When he spoke again his voice was thick. "Bex, he won't let us go, no matter what you do."

The phone was passed along again. With every voice I heard I wanted to cry and scream and curse. This was all because of my relationship. They were all being punished because of me. I heard the voice of each of my friends. Some of them cried, some pleaded, and some of them told me to stay away. Then Kerry was put onto the phone,

"Bex, don't come here. He will hurt you. He can't hurt all of us," I heard a merciless chuckle in the background when he heard that. He knew he could hurt them all. I knew that too. "Tell someone and they will help us. Don't put other people in danger."

I wanted to do what she told me, but I knew that I couldn't. If I told Edward or Alice then my friends would get hurt. I heard the phone taken away from Kerry and he talked again.

"I am a patient man. I will give you until sunset today to get back to Basingstoke. Call me on this number when you get here and I will tell you where we are. If you don't then your friends will die. If you do get here then I will let them all go. If any of them try to escape then I will kill their partner. Tell no one about this. Bring no one with you. Or they will all die. Do you understand? Say yes or no,"

"Yes, I get it," I murmured into the phone.

"See you soon," the gentile voice said cheerily as he put the phone down. I stood there with the handset by my ear, in shock. I had to get away from Alice and Jasper and get back home. For a few moments I allowed myself to contemplate the conversation. He had gone out of his way to make it appear that he was a human gun man, rather than an obsessed vampire. There was something which was forcing him to make this look like a crazy man who wanted to kill people. He did not want to be identified as a vampire by anyone. I took a deep breath and tried to forget my friend's fear filled voices. If I thought about them anymore then Jasper would realise that there was something wrong when he got back.

I had to write two letters. One to my parents, because I would never get the opportunity to see them again if the vampire got what he wanted. And I had to write one to tell Edward why I was doing what I was doing. I had to write down everything I would not be able say to him. I held back the tears as I got out two pages of paper. I had to write the notes before Jasper got back, and before Alice became too inquisitive and came to see what was wrong.

Mum and Dad,

I love you so much. Thank you for everything you have ever given me. I love you, and I love Matt.

Bex

If I wrote anything else then I knew I would break down right then. Next came the more difficult letter, because I knew that I would have to explain everything to Edward.

Edward,

You have to realise that I am doing this to save people's lives. I know he is going to slaughter my friends and the whole town that I love if I don't go to him now. I love you, you have to know that, but I can't stand by and watch as everyone else pays because of me. This has to stop here. Once he has what he wants everything will be alright. In a tragic twisted way he is right. I am playing with fire and I won't allow other people to get burnt because of what I am doing. You have to understand that. You of all people should understand why I have to do this. After all, you know me better than I know myself.

Thank your family for me. I wholly appreciate everything they have done for me, and I love them all. Say goodbye to Alice for me, and please don't be mad at her. She has no idea of what I am about to do, and if I get away from her and Jasper then it will be some act of God.

Please protect my family. This will be hard enough for them. Please tell them I love them.

Finally Edward. I love you. You have given me so much in the short time we have been together and my only regret is that we could not have more time together. I never imagined I would get something so special in my life, when I am far from any kind of special perfection. I guess this was destined to end this way. I love you so much, and I cannot describe the feelings I have knowing I will never say this to you again. I love you.

All my heart is yours. All my love is yours.

Bex

A tear dropped onto the page as I wrote the last words. I kissed the page and then folded it into the envelope. Two letters were written. There was only one last thing I needed to do. Get away from Alice and Jasper. I forced myself to stop crying through sheer will.

I walked out of the room and put the two notes into Alice's bag. I would tell her where they were when the time was right.

"Bex, we are going to head off now. You ready?" Alice trilled as she walked back into the room, Jasper following closely behind her. A phone rang. "Uh, Bex, how about you go downstairs to the shop and get some food for the journey. We don't want to stop until we get there."

That was Alice subtly trying to get me out of the way. I nodded and picked up my bag from the side, automatically pulling my purse out of the pocket. I walked out of the door, thanking God for the opportunity to think without either one of them breathing on my neck. This was probably going to be the only chance I would get to think about my escape. I was slightly confused about the fact that Alice was actually letting me out of her sight for the first time since we had got into the car. Clearly something was going on that she did not want me to know about.

I mutely walked down the stairs to the entrance of the hotel. I crossed a small car park, and noticed a coach parked up in front of the service station doors. I walked through these doors and continued on to the shop.

I picked up a load of chocolate and some water, along with a couple of sandwiches, which I know I would never eat, but felt the need to buy anyway. As I was doing this I was constantly thinking of how I could get away from Alice and Jasper for longer than a few minutes to be able to get back to Basingstoke.

It was as I was paying that I noticed a familiar blonde head walking past the shop. It was my friend Hannah. I paid quickly and then walked over to her, tapping her on the shoulder. She spun around and squealed in glee as she saw me.

"Bex!"

"Heya Hannah, I said as enthusiastically as I could manage. She was exuberant, and always had been. I had forgotten that the college had done a trip to the River Ogmore in Wales for the geography students, and that Hannah was one of the students who had chosen to go. This could provide me with the opportunity which I needed. I thanked whatever or whoever was watching over me for the fact that Alice and Jasper had left to sort out private family stuff before Hannah could see me with them.

"Bex, what are you doing here?" Hannah asked as she hugged me.

"I was on my way up to Exeter to meet my parents for a football tournament. But my car broke down about a mile from here, and I had to walk."

"What are you going to do?" she asked shocked at my 'misfortune'.

"I have called the insurance company and they are bringing a tow truck." She nodded as I said this. A sudden thought occurred to me. "What time does the coach leave?"

"In about five minutes. We are only getting a short toilet break. Are you sure you are going to be okay until the company gets here?"

"Yeah, I will," I had just spotted Alice walking towards me. "Listen, Hannah I have to go make a call, could you excuse me?" she nodded and I walked off around the corner. I met with Alice and Jasper there.

"Bex Edward is going to meet us here. We have to stay here until he gets here then all of us are going to carry on to Blackpool." I nodded mutely, realising that I would have to get away from Alice and Jasper before he got here. Otherwise I would never find the courage to do what I need to do. And it would be a whole lot harder to get away from Edward.

"Alice I need to go to the toilet. Do you know where there is one in this service station?" I asked her, trying not to be obvious about the need to be on my own.

"Yes Bex, I will come with you."

"No Alice, I can go on my own. I do not need a guard dog. I am going to the toilet. I will be right back. Okay?" she nodded dubiously, slightly stunned at my ferocity. I added something on as if it were an afterthought. "Alice I have put a letter in the bag. Can you post it for me while I go to the toilet?"

She nodded and I walked in the direction she mutely pointed to. I knew this service station had a door at the back, round the corner next to the toilets. All I would have to do would be get out of the door and get onto the coach which was going back to Basingstoke. I just had to get there before Alice realised that there were two letters in there. One for my parents and one for Edward. They would not notice if another one of the kids from the college got onto the bus. I would just say that my car had been towed and I needed a ride. Martin would not mind me getting onto it. I walked sedately around the corner and then ran to the door. The coach was loading up right then. I ran towards it.

"Martin," I said breathlessly. "I know this is very sudden, but can I get a ride back to Basingstoke with you? It's because my car broke down and the company would not give me a ride home."

Martin looked outraged at this, and nodded straight away.

"Of course you can Bex. I am astonished that this company would leave a young woman stranded at a service station miles away from her home. I am disgusted!" I felt guilty for lying to him right then. But not guilty enough to not do it. I got on the coach and so did Martin. Then the coach pulled away. I crossed my fingers that they had not thought to check on me.

"Hey Bex, come sit down next to me," Hannah called as I walked down the coach. I smiled gratefully and walked towards her. I waved distractedly at my friend Susie who was sat in front of Hannah. It was their smiling faces which set me off. I started crying right then, in the middle of a bus crowded with eighteen year olds. Hannah put an arm around me soothingly.

"Bex. What's wrong?" she asked concernedly.

"I am just sad I am going to miss my brother's football. I miss my family." Well that was true. But it was not why I was crying.

The journey back to Basingstoke was mercifully short. I appreciated that. I listened as Hannah talked about the trip, absentmindedly fiddling with my hoodie. It was as we were pulling into the college car park that my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and almost fainted. The caller id said it was Edward. I was desperate to answer it, to hear his voice once more. I resisted the urge and pressed the deny call button. If I heard his voice then I would not go through with it, and then my friends would be murdered violently. He would convince me that there was some other way to do this. I knew that there was not. Hannah looked at my broken face for a moment, and then, filed down the aisle. I grabbed my bag and did the same.

Martin waited in the car park with me for half an hour before I convinced him to go home. Everyone else had left or been picked up, and I had 'called' my uncle. I told Martin that he was just late and that he should go home. He reluctantly agreed and walked back to his car. As soon as he was far enough away I whipped my phone out. I noticed in passing that I had 5 missed calls. I refused to look at who they were from. I was pretty sure I knew. I dialled Kerry's phone number and waited for him to pick it up.

"Why hello my dear," he said cheerfully. "I take it that you are back in Basingstoke. How delightful. You doubtlessly know the sports hall at your school. Come to it and I will let your friends go."

I ended the call and walked slowly to the double doors which opened on the gym. It was eerily quiet. Normally there would be people in the gym. They had all been dissuaded by the 'out of action' sign on the door. As I stepped through I realised that the big window of the sports hall had been covered up by some sort of dark cloth. I could hear faint crying sounds. I walked to those sounds quickly, knowing that for them the ordeal would soon be over. I trusted that this vampire would keep his side of the deal and let them go. He had no need of them.

While I walked I thought about what had led me to this. My life was never very interesting. Living in the same place for the last ten years had made everything seem the same, every day more of the same repetitive pattern, with minor changes. But I was comfortable in the pattern, unwilling to move on from my niche. I was happy.

Then he came and changed my life. And that was why I was standing here, looking through a blank window, on what was surely going to end with my death. But nothing would make me regret letting him into my life. He had changed the pattern, and for that I was grateful. For those few months I was able to see how my life could have been.

I closed my eyes and pushed open the door. I was greeted by a sight worse than I had prepared myself for.

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	21. Chapter 21: My End

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter for me - i apreciate your feedback and it made me feel real good seeing the reviews in my inbox!**

**hope you like this chapter as well**

Chapter Twenty One – My End

My friends were huddled into the furthest corner of the room, fear evident on all of their faces. Laura, Mitchell, Kerry, Dale, Kelly, Jackson, Leanne, Taylor. Their wrists were all tied together in one long line, the rope tied so tight that t was biting into the skin of their wrists. They were sat on the floor, and had obviously been arranged specifically to create the maximum fear inside them. None of them were sat near their partners, but each one of them was holding hands with their neighbours.

Stood in front of them was the vampire, with the air of a watchdog. He had the gun in both hands, pointed in the general direction of my friends, although I knew that if one of them tried to get away then they would be stopped without the vampire ever needing the gun. His eyes were a deep black, so dark that you could not see the difference between the pupil and the colour.

I breathed out slowly, and took one step into the room.

"Come in, come in," the vampire said with a flourish of his hand. I took a few more steps into the room.

The vampire stepped forward, the gun held negligently at his side. He grasped hold of my hand and shook it lightly.

"Hello sweetheart. I already know who you are, of course. But let me introduce myself. I am Stephan. It is nice to meet you in person my dear." Those endearments ripped through my head. He was made even more terrifying by his gentile air. If he had been vicious or angry, that would have been easier to deal with. But this.... this felt so wrong. It didn't fit. He left go of my limp hand and walked slowly back to where the captives sat.

"Now, before this party is broken up, would you like to hear why this happened?" he asked everyone with the manner of a gracious host.

"This happened because you are a sick bastard," Dale said defiantly. Stephan shook his head, as if what Dale had said was some sort of joke.

"No, no, no. It is because your friend is dating a very bad person. This is better than what will happen to her if she stays with him," I was sure that this made sense in his diseased imagination. I was in no doubt now. This was a clinically insane vampire. How did something like that happen to a person? Had he been mentally unstable before he was changed, or had he developed it afterwards?

"Please, just let them go," I heard myself beg quietly. I could not allow anymore harm to come to my friends.

"Wait a minute. Don't you want to know how this little gathering came to be?" he asked, as if he was indulging a stroppy child. I nodded mutely, knowing that he would not let them go until he had said all he wanted to. "It was quite simple. I managed to acquire a supply of a very useful drug – chloroform I believe it is called – and it was then simple enough to find all of the friends I had seen you with for the past month. You see, my dear I have been watching you for a long time. Ever since they moved here and showed an interest in you. I feel that it is my duty to save you from yourself. I brought Mary-Alice here first, and then bought the others, in ones or twos. It was quite easy really."

I looked in despair at my friends. They did not have to hear this.

"Please, just let them go."

"They leave one by one. Hopefully this will encourage you to co operate. Once they have all left, then I will bring Mary-Alice out. You and I will leave and she will be left here. Then everything will be as it should be. If any of them call anyone then the ones who are left will die." I swallowed and then nodded. "To make this more interesting, you have to choose who leaves when. I will shoot anyone who tries to run before they are called." My mouth fell open then. What kind of sick game was he playing?

"Hi guys," I said quietly. "Listen to me. This is not in an order." They all nodded to me and then I scanned their faces. I would choose the people who were the most scared. And first on that list was....

"Laura," I breathed. The vampire cut through the rope which bound her to Mitchell, and she walked over to me slowly, her hands held out in front of her so I could see where the rope was biting into her skin. Her face was blotchy and red, covered in dry tears. She lifted her arms up so that she could put them around my neck and held me tight to her. I wrapped my arms around her for a second, and then ducked out of her grasp. I nodded towards the door and she ran out, the tears falling from her eyes again. I listened to her footsteps as they echoed out of the building. When I could not hear them anymore I looked towards the vampire. He nodded indulgently, as if he was granting me some favour.

"Taylor," I said. The vampire swiftly cut his bonds and Taylor ran from the room. As he did I heard him speaking.

"Oh, thank God!" I saw the disgust on Kerry's face at the behaviour of her boyfriend. It was situations like these that you really find out a person's character. I took it from her expression that she did not like what she had discovered. I looked for the person who looked the most scared.

"Leanne," as soon as he cut the rope she shot across the room towards me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said almost incoherently, before running out of the room.

"Kelly"

"Mitchell"

"Jackson"

"Kerry". She walked towards me and looked me in the eye for a few moments. Then she hugged me.

"You stupid martyr! I love you for this, but why?" she asked me quietly.

"Because it is my fault." I said simply.

"Hurry up my dear!" the vampire interrupted. I nodded to Kerry and she walked out of the room slowly.

"Dale," his was the last name that I would have to call. He stood up and walked across the room to me. He stood in front of me for a few moments without saying anything. I handed my phone to him, the numbers already typed into the phone. I had saved as many of them as I could. I could take no more chances. The vampire would release Mary-Alice very soon and she would need medical attention. Dale was the strongest of all of them. He had dealt with the wait, and would help them all get through this. I had no doubt of that.

"Dale, use the phone. Get everyone away, wait ten minutes and then use the phone. Tell them what has happened. Okay. You are all going to be fine. Now go." Dale looked at me for a final moment and then hugged me quickly.

"You are better than all of us Rebecca James. If only you weren't." He whispered into my ear and then kissed my cheek. He walked out of the room and looked back at my only once.

"Excellent. Now we are alone I will go get Mary-Alice," Stephan said as he began walking to a cupboard next to the main doors. I spun around and took a few steps back, determined to keep him in my eye line. I was not going to turn my back on him. I saw him open the door and step into the blackness.

When he stepped back out of the cupboard he was carrying Mary-Alice in his arms. The way her held her was gentle, almost loving. He caressed her cheek and looked down into her eyes. Then he laid her out on the floor. As he put her down he also threw the gun across the room, letting it spin into one of the corners. He no longer needed it for any kind of appearance. I knew what he was.

Mary-Alice looked terrible. She was slumped on the floor where he had lain her, her injuries too great to allow her to support herself. In addition to her broken legs and arm her collar bone jutted out at an awkward angle, only just not breaking the skin and the fingers on her right hand were mangled. I realised with horror that he had broken each of her fingers in more than one place. Her face was mottled with brown and green, every single centimetre of her skin was covered in bruising. In her unbroken arm was a single bullet hole, weeping blood.

"You shot her?" I asked in disbelief and revulsion.

"It was an accident. The gun backfired. I can tell you that it has not been easy smelling her blood all of this time. I have refrained from tasting it though. I knew she had to stay alive." He spoke with the air of someone who should be pitied. He would be the last being on earth which I would ever pity. I took one step towards Mary-Alice.

"Now, do not come any closer," he warned as he caressed her battered cheek. "You wouldn't want me to make any mistakes would you? She is only clinging onto life by a thread. One slip of the hand and she could be gone forever."

"Please, let her go. Let her go to the hospital."

"The hospital would not be able to do anything for her now. I assure you, her injuries are my one regret in this long day. She really is a beautiful soul, and I feel terrible that I did this to her. Of course, if you had paid attention to my first warning then this would not have happened. But do not fear, soon she will be out of pain. I will make everything better for her." he picked her up in his two arms and lowered his head. He kissed her on the lips then the neck. Then I cried out in horror.

His teeth sunk into the delicate flesh above her collar bone and she cried out in pain. All I could do was stand there as he wrenched his teeth away from her neck and look at me in celebration, blood dripping from his mouth. I retched as I saw Mary-Alice writhing in pain. Then he was stood in front of me.

"Now, don't get upset. This is what is best for her. If I had left her then she would have died." He sounded like he was proud of himself. It was his fault that she was in that sort of mess in the first place.

"She would have been fine if you hadn't kidnapped her from the hospital!" I said, outraged. My emotions were getting the better of me now. I had rocketed from fear to anger too many times in the past hour, and I was sure that it was not good for my heart, or for my head. Stephen tutted at me.

"Now dear, you know that simply is not true. But I am getting bored of this banter. We are going to have to get this over with, because to be honest I have got bored of your voice." His teeth glinted in the harsh light as he crept towards me, ready to kill. I backed away quickly, trying to get away from him. I had thought that I had come to this room ready to die for my friends and family, but I was not ready to give up on life without any kind of fight. I could not save Mary-Alice now. I could only try to save myself. In a flash he was by my side, grabbing hold of both of my wrists. He sent me flying, spinning into the wall. My shoulders and head absorbed most of the impact and sent stabs of pain through my back and neck. My eyes clamped shut as I tried to escape the pain. My head began to throb and my shoulder felt like it was too far forward. It was sending sharp signals to my brain, telling me that something was very wrong. Something took hold of my wrists again in an iron grip and made them pop, sending sharp daggers of pain into my whole body. I was flying again, this time into the floorboards of the gym. I looked up through the haze of pain and watched as he callously lifted a foot and casually stepped onto my arm. I heard the shattering of the bone, rather than felt it at first. Then I screamed as the unbearable pain began throbbing in my arm, in time with the beat of my heart. I continued to scream and shriek with pain until I was abruptly cut off. He was lifting me by my throat, choking the air from my lungs. I began to see black and thought that it was going to be the end of my pain. I had no sort of luck. It was obvious to me at that point that he was planning to draw this out for as long as he could. He dropped me onto the floor, where I landed awkwardly on my ankle, twisting and spraining it. He took hold of my broken arm and dragged it up until I was hanging awkwardly from that arm, a scream of pain coming from my shoulder. I looked up through glazed eyes to see him bite savagely into my wrist, blood spraying into his mouth. I whimpered with pain, unable to scream or cry out because of the pain in my throat. I watched helplessly as he drank from my life blood, slowly stealing my life. Then he spat my wrist out and let it fall limply to the floor, spraying blood all over the floor. I fell with my arm, my ribs taking the majority of the blow. He took me by the leg and threw me against the wall again. I felt my head crash into the wall and then everything went black, for that one final time. My end.

**Agian, anyone who reviews will get a sneak peak at the next chapter. so please review!!!!!!**


	22. Chapter 22: Waking Up

**Sorry about the length of time it has taken me to add this chapter - i had prom last weekend and have been working all week. also i am sorry about not answering the reviews - i read them but i thought it would be better to get the chapter up rather than replying. i only just got them because my PC had a melt down. any way enough of my rambling. **

Chapter Twenty two – Waking up 

EPOV 

I threw my phone at the floor in raw frustration and watched detachedly as it shattered into pieces. Why was she doing this to me? I snarled and looked out of the front windshield, begging the car to go faster. I was sat in my car with Alice, Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper willing it to go faster than the hundred miles we were forcing it to go. I was grateful of Rosalie's modifications to my car then. They might be the only thing which would get us there in time to catch up with Bex, to stop her from doing what she was doing. To stop her from killing herself and me. I had no doubt in my mind right then that if she died then I would too. I would not live in this world knowing that I had caused the death of the one thing I wanted to keep safe._ She would have stayed with you if you had listened to Alice_ a dark voice in the back of my head whispered at me. I shook my head violently, snarling again. I refused to make her like me. She was too good, too full of hope to be denied a chance at heaven. I was disgusted at myself for even thinking that. I would not allow her to lose her soul. I would not allow her to die. I would not allow myself to live on after her.

I heard a snarl in the backseat and my head whipped around to see Alice grimacing. I listened into her mind and saw why she was so agitated. The vampire had not decided what he would do after Bex had gone into that room. But every option he considered ended with Bex lying in a pool of her own blood, her beautiful body cold and lifeless. I watched dozens of different deaths for her. In some of them he drained her completely. In others I watched her body being riddled with bullets. And in some he beat her and threw her about so thoroughly that she ended up choking on her own blood as she vomited. I shuddered as every image sent daggers of agony through my chest. This pain was intense and I was staggered by what possibilities had done to me. If that was how I reacted to a possibility how I was going to deal with any kind of reality I would face.

"Edward, nothing is going to happen to Bex. She will be fine. We will get there," Alice said firmly out loud. I listened to her mind and saw her visions. They were all changing, flickering from possibility to possibility.

_It all depends on if we get there in time_

"Jasper move this damn car!" I snarled at him. I knew that he could sense my anger and impatience but I needed an outlet. I needed to snarl and hiss and growl so that I could be there for my love. She was in this mess because of me, and I had to get her out of it. Otherwise she would be gone, like yet another shooting star flying across the sky. She could change the world if she was given the chance. I had to make sure that she was given that chance.

"Edward, I am pushing the car as much as I can. Even with Rosalie's modifications it is no supercar. Calm down. You are going to drive me over the edge!" as he said this he sent a wave of calm through the air in the car, calming everyone down. I welcomed it, using it to calm my emotions, to become emotionless. I could not afford to have emotions with what was at stake here.

"Edward," Alice said out loud, trying to get my attention. My head snapped around and my mind aligned with hers. The vampire was letting Bex's friends go out of the room and had taken out Mary-Alice who had been brutally attacked again. This vision had a sense of immediacy to it, as if it was about to happen. This meant that we had time. He had made a slip there. He knew what he was going to do to Mary-Alice and this gave Alice access to his future. He was going to change Mary-Alice and then attack Bex. It was there that the future got foggy again.

"Edward, we are going to get there in time." Alice said, taking hold of my hand.

"I know," I said, no emotion in my voice. There was no need for emotion. I only needed strength.

I focused on not ripping the door off its hinges as Jasper pulled the car into a car park near to the college. We all jumped out and began running toward the college. I raced ahead, determination lending my legs extra strength. I flew through the air, desperate to make it in time. Alice had told me that it all depended on if we made it there in time. Every second could count. I crashed through the doors and noticed in passing that the windows to the sports hall had been covered up. I pushed through the door, feeling the others just behind me.

As I raced into the room I saw the vampire take hold of Bex's ankles and throw her into the wall. I winced as my love flew into the wall, and snarled in rage as I saw blood seeping from her head. The smell of it hit me like a thousand needles stabbing into my throat. I wanted to taste that blood.

BPOV

I tried desperately hard to cling onto the comfortable blackness I had been surrounded by. Living in the dark felt better than living in the light with the burning pain and difficulty of living.

"Bex!" an anguished voice cried at me. Hearing that voice sent me spinning to the surface of the world. I wrenched open my eyes to look at the most beautiful face in the world.

"Edward," I sighed quietly, glad that I was able to see his face once more before I died. I reached out with my unbroken arm and stroked his face. "I'm sorry."

"Bex, you are going to be fine," he promised me, no contradiction in his golden eyes. I whimpered as the pain in my hand began escalating. I continued to stroke his marble skin, a sort of farewell. "Carlisle, what do you want me to do?"

I could see that Edward's lips were pressed together in pain. Clearly the blood which was leaking from my hand was causing him unimaginable amounts of pain.

"Edward, I'm hurting you," I whispered.

Another thought occurred to me then as Edward shook his violently. Stupid stubborn vampire.

"Edward, where is Mary-Alice?" I whispered. The vampire had bitten her, I remembered that much.

"He took her with him," Edward said in disgust as he placed his cool hand on my cheek. As he stroked my face the pain in my hand took on the qualities of a fire. It felt like my flesh was burning off, that my blood was burning and my bones were melting. I screamed out and dropped my hand from his face.

"Stop the fire Edward!" I cried.

"Carlisle, what's wrong?" Edward asked as he looked away from my face. As he did Carlisle's face entered my eye line.

"He bit her," I heard Carlisle saying in an appalled tone on voice. Funny. I had figured that out myself. I was more concerned about the fire spreading slowly up my arm when was someone going to put the damn fire out?

"Edward my arm is burning!" I screeched at him, hoping that he would finally realise and put the flames out. My throat complained as I screamed, my bruised and crushed vocal chords objecting to the strain I was unintentionally putting them under. I could hear the agony in his voice as answered my screams.

"Bex, I know what is happening, God, I know. Carlisle stop this!"

"Edward, you have to suck the venom out." I heard that and saw that Edward was dumbstruck. My normally eloquent boyfriend was speechless.

"Carlisle you know I can't do that. I will kill her!"

"Edward you must find the strength from somewhere. Or you must let the change happen."

A small voice interrupted the conversation then.

"Edward, I know that she is going to be changed. It is the most clear it has ever been. Just let it happen," Alice said, looking down at me in pity. She wanted them to let the fire to continue to burn me? I was incredulous at the thought and almost delirious.

"No!" Edward roared at Alice as his eyes moved away from mine. I agreed with him at that moment in time.

"Edward just stop the fire!" I screamed, straining my voice and sending shocks of pain through my crushed wind pipe. I saw something in his eyes right then. He had made a decision. I sincerely hoped that he was making the decision I needed him to. The fire needed to be stopped.

"The fire will stop now Bex, I promise, I will make everything okay again." I saw the conviction in his eyes as he lifted my hand gently, and put his lips around the wound which was sapping all of my strength. I whimpered as he began to drink from me. The pain was not that much in comparison to the agony my wounds and the fire was subjecting me to, and I welcomed the chance to get rid of the fire. I trusted Edward. I knew he would do enough to save me. He greedily sucked up more and more of the blood which sustained my life. He was taking too much. I could feel myself becoming more and faint.

"Edward," I moaned out and something seemed to pass through Edward then. With a loud snarl he wrenched his mouth away from my hand and coughed out. He wiped his hand across his lips to get rid of the blood on his lips, and then he dropped his face to my face. I looked up at him with tired eyes. He kissed my forehead softly.

**Sorry that was a short chapter - i hope to get the next one up tommorow. Please please review - i will give you an extra long extract!!!!!**


	23. Chapter 23 One Big Fire

**I am so so majorly sorry about the wait - my computer is very tempramental!!!!! i thought i would update rather tahn do any replies but i promise that i will reply for this chapter because i love to get reviews. seriously it makes me jump up and down in my chair!!**

Chapter Twenty Three – One Big Fire

EPOV

Bex was in the hospital and Carlisle was caring for her. I should have been there with her, but I had one more task before I could look after my love. I had to annihilate him.

I was grateful for Dale's presence in Bex's life. He had waited for ten minutes, as she had told him, and then had called the emergency services. My family had got there five minutes after he had left, and had scared the vampire into running. He had taken Mary-Alice with him, and we had been too concerned about Bex. She needed medical treatment and Carlisle had to administer emergency treatment. I shuddered when I thought of the moment when my lips had met her wrist. Her blood had tasted so undeniably incredible and I almost did not stop in time. I almost killed her. However my memories of her made me strong enough to resist and stop. She had been saved from becoming like me. The emergency services had arrived and the police force had rushed into the room, not realising that the attacker had escaped. Carlisle explained to them and they had bundled Bex into an ambulance, along with the other victims. We had got to the hospital and Jasper had called me.

He had fed too soon. He had not hidden the corpse, and that had attracted Jasper's attention. The body had been outside a club and had been mangled and dripping with blood. Clearly something had distracted him. Perhaps it had been a human, or maybe Mary-Alice's screams. He would not have left her alone during her transformation. Jasper had been able to follow her scent, a strange mixture of human, blood and vampire, to an abandoned warehouse, just outside of town. He had checked the emotional climate of the building and had ascertained that they were in there. Then he had called me and Emmett. We were all too willing to go to the warehouse and destroy this monstrosity.

It was not only revenge which compelled me to act. He was a threat to the existence of immortals, and if we did not step in then the Volturi would. I would not allow that to happen. That would let them get too near to Bex. I knew that we had to destroy this abomination or they would come to, and would discover that Bex knew about them. They would want her to be changed or killed. I could allow neither to happen.

As soon as Jasper had called me I had left Bex with Alice and Carlisle. Alice had called her parents, and they were making the trip back to Basingstoke. They were understandably distraught, I had listened to the conversation. Bex's mother had started crying and her father had to be told more than once what had happened because he did not take it in. I could only imagine her brother's reaction. He was only eleven, too young to know that his sister had been attacked and that his sister's friends had been used as hostages to force his sister to sacrifice herself. When I thought about that I found my anger building once again. Why had she gone to that room on her own? She had put herself at so much risk. I understood why, but I did not know how she could have. She loved her friends and would not have been able to bear their death, I knew that, but did not understand how she could have gone to that room, ready to die. If she had died, then I would have found a way of dying too. My life seemed bleak without her in it.

Myself, Emmett and Jasper were walking slowly around the building, determining where we would enter. I was listening to the inside of the building as hard as I could, listening for if he detected us. He was too absorbed in Mary-Alice and her transformation. I felt desperately sorry for the girl who had been Bex's friend. She had been cursed to an eternity of night, just like the rest of us. Bex would be devastated.

_Edward _I listened as Emmett called my attention mentally _We need to move in soon. She will be changed soon and he will try and leave_

I whistled quietly and Jasper and Emmett mentally nodded. We were ready to move in. I whistled again. We moved as one, running through three separate windows on each side of the building.

The vampire, Stephan as he called himself, was sat on the floor next to Mary-Alice's screaming body. His attention was purely on her face. Then he caught our scent and looked up. When he saw my face he smiled and rose slowly.

"Hello gentlemen. I take it that this is not a social call." Everything about this creature made me want to give in to the monster inside and rip him to shreds. I so wanted to rip him to pieces.

"I have one question for you. Why her?" I asked trying, to make sense of it all. He could have come after me if he wanted to hurt me, rather than getting her involved.

_She smelt so good, and I wanted a taste_ the primal part of his mind screamed at me, recalling the instant when he had bitten her. I snarled fiercely at him and sank forward into a hunting crouch.

"It was never really about you. I wanted to protect her from you and what you will end up doing to her. You will kill her."

"That is bull!" Emmett snarled at the vampire. I was grateful for my brother and his inherent need to see the good in our family. "You did this for your own amusement!"

_Edward, ignore what he is saying. He is insane_ Emmett urged me. It was too late. I was already dwelling on what he had said. _You will kill her_. He had spoken the truth, but I was too damn weak to stay away from her.

"I take it that it is over for me then." The way he spoke enraged me. To him this was all a game and he had just lost. He did not care for the lives he had ruined in his game. I snarled and raced forward crashing into his body, barrelling him to the floor. I sank my fangs into his neck and dug my fingernails into his arms ripping away lumps of putrid flesh. I felt him lift his legs up and sent me spinning upwards, taking half of his arm with me. Emmett leapt on him as he rose, tearing away half of his neck and throat with his teeth. Jasper took hold of his leg and twisted it, twisted and twisted until it torn off, a loud screeching noise drowning out the damned girl's screams. I ran at him again as Jasper and Emmett held him in place, tearing parts of his body off. I jumped and landed on his shoulders, grabbing hold of his head and twisting. It came off with a great wrench, and the body tumbled to the floor.

"We have to start a fire," Jasper said as he began tearing up the floor boards. Emmett helped him while I continued to disembowel the headless body. I felt a savage satisfaction from tearing, ripping and biting, from letting the inner demon rule. I would not have wanted my father to see me like this. Vengeance was an ugly emotion, and I could feel what Jasper felt pulsing from me. A primal enjoyment of vindication and revenge.

I was disgusted by myself. I wanted to be enough for Bex, to be human enough to deserver her. All of the work I had put into this for the last several months has been destroyed in two moments. I was a monster. I did not deserve her love. She should not love me.

I was momentarily distracted by my own mental turmoil by another person's mental anguish. Mary-Alice.

_When will this pain stop? I just want it to end! _The air was pierced with her screams and I felt more wretched every time I heard her scream. Why did this have to happen to a girl who had the best chance at heaven out of any person I had ever met?

Jasper flicked a lighter out of his pocket and flipped it open, sending torrents of fire onto the broken body of the monster. It set alight straight away and began emanating noxious fumes. I did not look away from the lost girl.

We would have to find her a coven. There was no chance that I was allowing her within any distance of Bex, no matter how close they had been in her previous life. In a few hours she would be a fully developed newborn, with all of the thirst and uncontrollable need that all newborns had. We all knew what it was like to be a newborn, and I had no intention of exposing Bex to that, especially after what she had been through because of me. I cursed myself for being too weak to see where our relationship was heading. And now, because of my foolishness she was in a hospital bed, barely able to move, her beautiful skin bruised and discoloured.

"Edward!" Emmett's voice pulled me out of my reverie. I was glad for his presence. I could not allow myself to become distracted by my own thoughts. "Edward, we have to get her out of this room. The fire is spreading."

I nodded and turned towards Mary-Alice. Even now, hours before her transformation was complete she no longer retained many traces of her previous injuries. For a moment I marvelled at what the venom which I myself carried could do, but then was dragged into more dangerous thoughts. She would have no chance at heaven now, no chance at any kind of redemption. All because of me. I stepped forward and picked her up gently. She was convulsing in my arms, the pain wracking her tiny frame. I was pulled into her thoughts of agony for a moment, before I shook my head and concentrated on the situation at hand. I twisted around and leaped out of the window next to me. The fire had now consumed most of the old warehouse now, flames were crackling out of the roof. Where the flames burnt they destroyed all of the last remnants of the cruel sadistic vampire who had tried to kill my love.

**REVEIWS please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a teaser will be sent to all who review!!!!!!!!!!!! i promise!!!!!!!!!**


	24. Chapter 24: Human Again

**Thank you to all of you who reviewed for me - i would have replied but am in the process of swopping internet providers and so have to change all my alert email addresses. i hope you enjoy this chapter - i tried to make it one which wrapped up some things which might have been left to confuse anyone.**

Chapter Twenty Four – Human again

I felt strangely numb as I tried to open my eyes. The fire and pain I had been feeling had been replaced with a kind of floating feeling, as if I was in the middle of an empty sea. Just floating there. I felt a hand flutter to mine as I tried to lift it. The reassuring cold touch made me wrench open my eyes so that I would be able to see his face. I sighed as I looked into his beautiful golden eyes. Edward.

"Hey, take it easy. Don't try to move," he said as I attempted to sit up and look around the room. I ignored him, and the spasms of pain which went through my chest as I bent my body. I saw a look of exasperation on his face as he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and lifted me up. Once I was sat up I was able to look around the room and take stock of where I was. I was in a generic hospital room, one of the ones which was obviously in a private hospital. The room was pristine clean, with a television in the corner of the room by the window. The curtains were closed, a flowery pattern on the material, so I could not see what time of the day it was, or what was outside the room. The walls were painted a cheery cream colour, and the floors were immaculately cleaned blue tiles. I took in all of this before I looked at the bed I was on. I was sitting on a hospital bed, my one arm in a sling across my chest. It was bulky and misshapen.

"What happened to me?" I croaked, my throat complaining about the noise I was forcing it to make. I coughed quietly and looked at him in alarm. He stroked my hand soothingly.

"You got very hurt by him," Edward murmured, his voice full of hurt. I winced.

"What is hurt?" I pressed. He sighed.

"You have 4 broken ribs, and your arm is fractured as well," he started pointing at the arm which was pinned to my chest. "You have deep muscle bruising on both of your legs, and bruise marks around your neck from his hands. The vertebrae in the bottom of your back shifted to the left, and they have been manipulated back into place. You shoulder was dislocated, and both of your wrists were, and they have been put back. Your ankle is also sprained." I could hear his voice become more and more grim as he documented the injuries which had been inflicted on me. I panicked then. How had I got here if I had been in the college sports hall?

What happened to him and Mary-Alice?" I forced my throat to speak.

"We dealt with him. Mary-Alice did not make it," he said, something dark in his voice. My eyes snapped open and I looked at him in horror.

"But....he...bit....her," I stuttered, looking at him.

"She got changed. We have sent her to a coven in Scotland who we know. She will be looked after there."

"Will I be able to see her?" I asked him. His eyes hardened as he looked at me gravely.

"No. It would be too dangerous for you," his voice told me that there was no chance for argument. I was too tired to argue. I would make my point later.

"What happened after I passed out? What is the official story?" I asked him. I wanted to get the story straight, and how I would have got here.

"You got a call while you were in the service station and left me there, because you knew that I would not let you go. The kidnapper let your friends go and then attacked you. We got there in time to get him off you. Dale called the police and they turned up. The ambulance staff recognised Carlisle and they brought you here. They saw the CCTV footage of him leaving the sports hall and they have sent a call out for a search for him. I doubt they will though," he said, a dark laugh erupted from his throat. I shuddered slightly and looked at the window.

"Where is here?" I asked him, desperate to get some sense of place and time. I was confused, drugs still running rampant through my body, making my head foggy and my eyes lazy.

"We are at the Hampshire Clinic, the private hospital in Basingstoke. This is the in patients ward." There was something in his voice which made my head twist back to him suddenly.

"What is wrong Edward?" I whispered to him.

"This is my fault," he said, covering his face with his hands in distraught. He let go of my hand and I reached out for one of them, whimpering. I needed the comfort of his presence. I touched his face and he dropped his hand into mine. His eyes had hardened and he looked right through me. "you would not be in this state if I was not here."

I felt like shouting at him. He was so stupid.

"Shut up Edward," I whispered to get his attention. He looked sharply at me. "Edward this is actually my fault. If I had of said to you earlier about seeing this vampire everywhere then you would have dealt with him. Then my friends would not have been traumatised, Mary-Alice would not have had to give up her humanity and her life. So this is my fault and I will not have you taking this on yourself." I croaked at him. This was the most I had said since my neck had been battered. Edward stroked my face, the only part of me other than my hand which he could touch without causing me pain.

"We can talk about this later. You should go back to sleep." he said as he lowered me back to the bed. I was not complaining. I bitterly needed the sleep and the time to regenerate and rejuvenate. I needed to get my mind working properly again. I closed my eyes and went to sleep almost straight away.

When I woke up the neon lights above me were switched on which led me to believe that it was night time. I lifted up my arm to block the light out and realised that they had stuck a damn needle in my hand which was connected to a drip. I shook my hand, desperate for it to come out. I couldn't move my arm which was strapped to my chest, so I couldn't pull it out myself. Edward took hold of my hand to stop it shaking. I cleared my throat and realised that it hurt slightly less.

"What is wrong sweetheart?" he asked me gently, kissing my forehead. I whimpered and shook my hand again.

"I really cannot stand needles," I said to him. He smiled indulgently down on me.

"You don't like needles but you don't mind going to a psychopathic vampire who is intent on murdering you. You baffle me." he shook his head in bewilderment. I glared up at him.

"Please get rid of the damn needle!" I hissed at him.

"No, I can't," he seemed very amused by this now. It made me madder.

"Get. The. Damn. Needle. Out. Of. Me!" I put emphasis on every word.

"We can't do that yet dear," a young nurse said as she walked into the room. I watched her as she checked Edward out before looking at my chart. "You have been out of it for quite a while honey, and we need to get fluids into you."

My face fell and I looked beseechingly at Edward. He smiled down on me again. I was feeling very patronised at that moment. They were looking at me like I was some sort of child. They did not understand that I could not stand needles. My hand was itching and I remembered the last time someone had refused to take a needle out of my hand. I had almost ripped it out myself and had fainted because it bothered me that much.

"Do you want anything?" she asked both of us, looking at Edward as she spoke. I shook my head mutely, unable to speak with the irrational surge of jealousy and possessiveness pulsing through my body. I did not like the way that she looked at Edward. He declined politely, while trying to hold back a laugh. I watched as she sauntered out of the room, shaking her butt and hips with great exaggeration.

"What was she thinking?" I asked Edward very calmly, more calmly than I felt. Here I was in a hospital bed, and people were already flirting with my boyfriend. Surely I deserved some sort of reprieve after all I had been through. He shook his head and lifted his hands up.

"Wait a minute, Bex. I am not telling you that. Not when you are in this condition." It was obviously bad. I looked up at him, waiting. "Bex, it was nothing. I don't want you going homicidal. Don't worry, love."

"You really don't understand girls do you? With all your mind reading powers you don't get the female mind. Picture how you feel when you hear people thinking derogatory things about me. That I how I feel when girls flirt with you." I was pleased that my throat had not cracked whilst I was saying that. Edward sat down on the bed beside me and put his arm around me.

"I love you Bex. It does not matter what other women think or do because you are the only one which captures my attention. Even if I did cause this, I do love you," he sighed and looked away from me. I reached across his face and pulled it around to face me. His face was sombre.

"Edward, just leave it will you. This is not your fault. This is mine and I will not have you taking it on yourself. You need to stop brooding." I protested. He shook his head. "No, Edward, listen to me!"

"I should leave. You are in this position because me," His voice was bleak. I shook my head violently.

"Shut up Edward." I almost shouted. "You are not going anywhere. Yyyou can't! I can't deal with this without you! I, I, I just don't, ddddon't. What, what, you, you can't say that! Promise me that you won't go!!! Damn it Edward, you can't say stuff like that. That does not work for me! Edward, promise me. You are not going anywhere!!!!" I was getting scared and angry and hysterical. He could not say that to me, not after what we had just been through. His eyes softened as he looked into my panic stricken face.

"Sweetheart, I won't be going anywhere."

"Promise me!" I demanded.

"I promise you I won't leave you. We are together." His words made me feel much better. I realised something then.

"Where are my parents? And my brother? Where are they??" I asked Edward looking around the room frantically. What did they know about what happened? He stroked my head soothingly.

"You parents got home a couple of days back. They were here a few hours ago, but your father had to go to work and you mom had to sort out your brother. She told me that she would be back soon." I relaxed then. At least they were home and they were safe.

"Okay then," I whispered as I laid my head against his shoulder. I fell asleep very quickly.

When I woke up Edward was still sat next to me, absentmindedly stroking my face. I looked up at him and smiled.

"What day is it?" I asked quietly as I took hold of his other hand. He smiled down on me as he helped me sit more upright.

"It is Friday sweetheart. Don't worry, the college has been told what has happened and have sorted out so you can have some extra credit work. Your mom is here." I grinned when I heard that. I missed my mother so much in the time that she had been away.

"Where is she?" I asked him, biting on my lip.

"She is just talking to some people in the office, about private medical care. She said she would back in about twenty minutes," he said and I nodded. He let go of my hand and smoothed my lip. He took hold of my chin gently. My breath caught in my throat and my heart started beating faster. It was strange that after all of this time he could still do this to me, still send my pulse racing just by looking in my eyes. He slowly bent his face towards mine, more slowly than I could imagine. I lifted my head the rest of the way and slowly brushed my lips against his. He shivered and his hand slid around the back of my neck. I lifted my hand to his smooth marble face as I kissed his beautiful lips and kissed me back. It was sweet, beautiful even, and was entirely right. Sitting in his arms, feeling his lips on mine felt as if I had finally come home from a long journey. I was suddenly struck with the conviction that for me wherever Edward was would be home to me.

A cough from the doorway interrupted us, and I pulled away from Edward, my face burning up. I saw a doctor from the hospital walking into the room. Edward laughed at my face and slid off the bed, just taking my hand.

"It is nice to see you awake Miss James," the doctor said as he checked some things on the monitor. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I was. It's sore, but not as bad as it could be," I said as honestly as I could. He nodded and made a few notes on a clipboard on the side of my bed.

"If you feel up to eating and keep something down then we should be able to take the needle out of your hand. We need to leave it in for the moment so that if the sedative makes you feel sick then we can give you some anti sickness medication."

"Brilliant," I said as I felt my face light up as he said this. If I was able to eat then I would be able to get the needle out of my hand! Edward laughed again at my face and I turned to him and grinned cheekily. The doctor laughed quietly and then walked out of the room. I sat there, my face absorbed in Edward's.

"Ahem," a quiet voice said which interrupted my quiet contemplation of Edward's face. I turned and saw that it was my mother.

"Mum!" I said quite loudly. She walked over to me and folded me into a hug. I breathed in her familiar scent and relaxed. I saw out of the corner of my eye Edward slinking towards the door to give us some privacy.

"I need to go and talk to Alice and my father," Edward said as he walked out of the door. I was grateful for the fact that he was leaving me some time with my mother, but at the same time I wanted him to stay. While he was there I was safe and I knew what was happening. When he was gone a part of me was lost. How cliché.

"Sweetheart, it is good to see you awake," my mother said as she sat down on the chair Edward had been sat in.

"Hi mum, you have no idea how good it is to see you." I was being completely honest there. In my time before the incident, and during it I thought that I would never see her, or anyone in my family again. "Mum, how long have I been here?"

"You have been in the hospital for about two weeks now. For quite a while they kept you sedated so that they could treat you and keep pain to a minimum." I could see that she was holding something back and I sighed.

"What is it mum, what's wrong?" I asked her, worried about one of the members of my family. Had something happened to them while I was out of it?

"I cannot believe you did that Rebecca James," she said as she stood up and began pacing around the room. "I get a phone call telling me that you have been involved in a hostage situation and that you are in hospital. I was sick with worry. And then I find out that you went there and did not tell anyone, and that you almost died. You have no idea what that did to me!"

I had upset her with my actions, but I could not bring myself to regret them. I had done what I had done for good reasons and in the end everyone turned out alright. The bad guy was defeated, the hostages were saved, and the heroine did not die. Just like a fairy tale, or a movie. Except in a movie you don't have to deal with the repercussions. I would have to give the police a statement about what happened and then I would have to live through the phone calls telling me that the guy was still at large. I would have to deal with the nightmares which had already begun to characterise my sleeping moments.

"I am so sorry mum. I did not think. I just wanted to help my friends, and I did not think about anything else. I am sorry for what I put you through," I said. Abruptly my mother sat down and hugged me.

"It's okay sweetheart I understand."

I was still in the hospital a couple of days later when the police arrived to take my statement. The doctors had wanted to keep me in to keep an eye on my various injuries, to check that there was no internal damage. I had got my wish for the needle to be removed, but I had not been able to get up. As a result of this I was stir crazy. That was until I saw the man in uniform turn up. Then I froze in horror. Edward was sat on the bed with me when I stiffened and understood why.

"Don't worry love, you know what you are going to say, and I am here," he whispered in my ear as they walked through the door. Alice had turned up a few days before, to tell us that the police had decided they needed a statement from me now that I was awake. She had told me the sort of things they were planning on asking, and so I was reasonably well prepared. But twisting the truth to get rid of any mention of the supernatural still filled me with fear.

"Miss Rebecca James?" the female officer asked. She was young, in her mid twenties with bright copper hair and brilliant jade green eyes. Her face was oval, with freckled covered skin which shone with youth and vitality. She was fairly tall and slim, a fact which was not disguised by her bulky uniform. She looked at Edward with undisguised interest and then checked herself, automatically going to work mode when I spoke.

"Yes, I am," I murmured, not looking up from my contemplation of Edwards hand in mine. He rubbed my shoulder soothingly.

"We just want to ask you a few questions about what happened," the other police officer said as they both sat down by my bedside. I nodded and looked up. The other police officer was a stocky male, who looked like he was in his mid forties. The black hair on his temples was greying and there were black bags beneath his eyes. In his profession he obviously did not get much chance at sleep. He filled out his uniform and had dark blue eyes which flicked from me to Edward rapidly, taking in Edward's protective body language and his hand rubbing on my shoulder. He took in me, and something in his eyes showed me that he was surprised. Obviously I was not what he suspected. He pulled a recording device out of his pocket and set it down on the food table beside my bed. I eyed it warily. By UK law I was no longer a minor, and so they could question me without my parents there. However they could not order Edward to leave without a written command.

"What happened to lead you to the school sports hall that Wednesday?" the female asked.

"I was on my way to Blackpool to spend the rest of the week with my boyfriend and his family and we stopped into a service station to get food and petrol. I wasn't feeling very well, so we ended up staying in the hotel for longer than we thought," I started. We had to cover all of the reasons for why we were places, just in case they checked in the hotel. The hotel employees would be able to back up our stories, because Jasper had had to carry me in, because I had fainted.

"Did the whole family stay in the hotel?" the male asked, as if he already knew the answer. Edward answered this question.

"No, only Bex, my brother and sister. Myself and the rest of the family took the opportunity to have a look around the countryside around here, as soon as we knew that Bex who not really unwell." His voice was assured and confident. If only I sounded like that when I spoke. The policeman nodded. Clearly this agreed with whatever information he already had.

"And what happened after that?" the female prompted.

"I got a call on my mobile phone which was from my friend's phone. It was not her, it was him. Stephan." I shivered as I said his name and Edward hugged me close to him. I was grateful for his cool embrace. "He threatened to kill my friends if I did not go there, if I told anyone. He put my friends on the phone, and I knew that he was serious. So I got onto the coach of my college going back to my college and came back to Basingstoke. I called him as he instructed and found out where they were. I went into the room and he let all of my friends go except for one. He then attacked me and I blacked out. I don't remember anything else, only brief flashes of consciousness until I woke up here." I finished my story there. The policeman nodded.

"Why did you choose to go rather than tell someone?" the female asked curiously, looking me in the face.

"Because I love my friends and could not stand seeing them get hurt. I thought that once they were out that they would call someone who would help." I was being totally honest then, and I think it showed through in my voice. The policeman turned his attention to Edward, as if satisfied with my answers.

"I take it that you are the boyfriend?"

"Yes. My name is Edward Cullen." Comprehension dawned on the policeman's face.

"Ah, Doctor Cullen's son." Amazing. They had only been here a few months and the local law enforcement already knew who Carlisle was. Edward nodded.

"What happened on the Wednesday?" he was asked the same question as me.

"Myself, my family, and Bex set off to travel to Blackpool in order to spend the rest of the week there. The rest of the family and me travelled around the area while we waited for Bex to be ready to travel again. I got a phone call on Wednesday from my sister who told me that Bex had left, and had left me a note saying that she had gone to help her friends. Myself, my father, sister and two brothers went to find Bex. My sister and mother stayed to drive the car home. We arrived at the school and went into the sports hall. The man ran off, taking Mary-Alice with us. To be honest I did nothing to stop him, as my only concern was for Bex. My father and I did all we could for Bex in the situation we were in. The police and ambulances arrived not long after." Edward finished his story and looked back to me. The love in his face in that moment made me breathless.

"Was it you who called the emergency services?" a leading question. They would have never got away with that in court. I laughed internally. My mind was all over the place today.

"No I did not. Bex's friend Dale was on the phone with the services when we arrived, and I felt that my efforts would be best put to use in helping Bex until they arrived." They both nodded and rose together, as if they had practised that motion until they got it simultaneous. I could see it my head, them practising over and over. I found that hilarious. Like I said, my mind was all over the place.

"Miss James, we will get in touch when we find him. I am afraid you will have to testify against him in court if we want to get him behind bars." The male officer said kindly. I nodded mechanically, knowing full well that that phone call would never come. He would never be caught because there was nothing to catch. "We will also need a copy of the medical report, for our investigation."

"You can get that from my father. He is in a temporary office on the first floor. Reception should be able to tell you where he is." Edward said, not moving his head. We looked at each other while they left. I relaxed into Edward arms and laid my head on his chest.

"Did they believe us?" I whispered to Edward when I was sure that the police were gone.

"Yes they did. You know, I heard something that made me realise that what we have is more special than I ever imagined it could be." A wondrous look was on his face. I stroked his marble cheek softly.

"What did you hear?" I asked him as we sat there together, revelling in each other's company.

"The male thought 'those two kids are so in love. The way they hold each other to take away the pain is beautiful'. I guess that you are not the only perceptive person in the world." He laughed and smoothed some hair from face. Then he grew serious. "I love you Bex."

"I love you too my overprotective, caring, amazing vampire." I sighed blissfully. I wanted life to be like this all of the time.

**i will now beg for the reviews from all you wonderful readers - seriously they make my day!!!! (also you will get a sneak peak - i promise!)**


	25. Chapter 25: Home

**so it took me a while to figure out what direction i was going to take this chapter in. i hope you like how it turned out.**

Chapter Twenty Five: Home

I lay listlessly in the bed on my own for the first time in days. Edward had had to go to hunt, and would not be back until the next day. He and Emmett had gone overseas to Ireland where there was apparently a sudden increase in the wolf population. I could remember his grin from the night before at the thought of being able to hunt big prey once more. I tried to smile as he left, but it hurt my heart. I knew that it was a necessary separation, but I still missed him. It hadn't been too bad the night before because Alice had stayed with me instead, making me laugh with all of her hair brained antics in the States. I could just see her elbowing her way to the front of a queue at four in the morning so that she could be the first inside a big sale. She was so little and lovable, with her enthusiasm and enjoyment of life.

She had left in the morning to get me some clothing. I would be able to leave the next day and she wanted to be able to clothe me in what she considered appropriate attire. I dreaded to think what that would be. I knew that she would not be taking anything from my closet, it was too cheap.

A happy nurse bustled into my room, smiling, carrying a try of food. That was one of the advantages of being in a private hospital rather than one of the NHS ones. You got your own room and could choose what food you wanted to be served. It was a lot more personal, and aimed at the patients. The NHS hospitals were hopelessly overstretched, meaning that personal care was lacking. Of course the NHS hospitals did not cost, and the private ones cost an arm and a leg.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked as she placed the tray on the bed table. I sighed.

"To be honest I am feeling kind of lonely. I miss my boyfriend," I said as she looked at the display above my head.

"Well, I am not surprised. Has he even left your side until now?" she asked kindly.

"No, he hasn't." That was why he needed to hunt so badly. His eyes had become a deep black, and I knew that it made it so much harder for him to be in the hospital. I had practically begged him to go with Emmett. He had reluctantly agreed when Alice had told him that nothing would happen.

"I think that you won't be lonely for much longer," she smiled as Laura and Jackson walked into the room. I was shocked by her appearance. She had lost a whole lot of weight, and had black bags underneath her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping since the attack that much was obvious. Her wrists were covered in bruises and angry welts. She walked slowly to the bed and gave me a gentle hug.

"Oh, Bex," she said as she sat down on the bed next to me.

"Laura, it's not as bad as it looks I promise. I am fine." She raised her eyebrows, but let it go. Jackson walked into the room slowly and sat on the chair next to the bed. He looked a bit worse for the wear, but that was about it. He was not battered obviously, but I knew in my heart that that day would be imprinted on our souls for the rest of our lives. That room would always hold the horrors we experienced there, and I would always feel the guilt for putting my friends through that. At least I knew the real reason for their temporary imprisonment. At least I would always know that the person who had done it was dead and gone. They would have to live with the fear of the man being out there. And they had no idea of why, they would live with the uncertainty of the unknown. It was my fault that they were in that room, not Edward's. If they had not been friends with me then it would have never had happened. But I could not bring myself to wish that they never had been, because in all honesty if they had not been then Edward would not have come here and he gave me some of the best memories and times I could ever had wanted.

We sat together for a while, chatting quietly together. Everything we said reminded me of all that I could not say to them, and it was killing me. Laura was like a sister to me and I had always told her everything. Now I was keeping the biggest secret and couldn't even tell her the real reason why she had been attacked. But it was not my story to tell.

Jackson and Laura left a little while later and I was left alone again. Alone with the memories.

The next day I woke up early, perhaps because unconsciously I realised that Edward was going to be back soon. I felt a thrill go through my body as I thought of my vampire. I heard a noise of movement in the room and opened my eyes slowly. As soon as I did I saw a wondrous sight. I felt giddy as I took in the man in front of me. Edward. It was stupid this relief I was feeling. It was like I was a heroin addict, and was hooked completely and utterly. He was like my own personal brand of heroin and I had no intention of kicking the habit.

"Hey Edward," I smiled as I spoke. He looked down at me as he sat, a smile spreading on his lips. My favourite crooked smile.

"Hello love, how have you been," he said as he reached out for my hand which lay by my side on the hospital bed. I took it eagerly, a sigh bubbling through my lips at the relief I felt with his skin touching mine.

"Bored. Missing you. More boredom. I think that you can get the drift. Alice was with me for a bit, but then she had to sort some things out. So I sat in this hospital bed, watched mindless sitcoms and counted the minutes till I had company. And now here you are," I sounded like a petulant teenager, but for once I didn't care. I allowed myself to act like the teenager I still was. Edward chuckled and lifted my hand up to his lips, kissing it gently. "What about you?"

"It was a pretty ordinary trip. Emmett managed to destroy his favourite shirt and blame it on the wolf he was stalking. Other than it was just endless waiting until I could be with you again," we smiled together.

"Right then, today is the day that you get to leave hospital Bex, so we need to get you into some normal clothes." Alice chirped as she walked through the door. I looked at her and the large duffel bag she was carrying. She was wearing a black dress with a pair of high black boots. She looked stunning as normal.

"Alice, why do you have a massive bag, it's almost as big as you! I'm only going home. All I needed was some underwear, trousers and a top." She rolled her eyes at me, pitilessly. That made me slightly apprehensive. "Alice what do you have planned to do to me?"

"Relax, Bex I just thought you might appreciate a shower and the chance to wash your hair with proper shampoo." I grinned at her eagerly. A shower! My hair was so lank and disgusting by now that it actually stood up if it was pulled in that direction. I was honestly shocked that Edward could touch it, it was that full of grease. I put my hand on it for a second and grimaced. I was definitely in need of a shower. Then I looked down at my hand. I couldn't have a shower until one of the doctor's said it was okay. "Don't worry, Carlisle is coming in a minute to tell you that you are fine to go."

I sighed in relief and sat up in the bed. Looking at the clock, I laughed out loud. It was only seven o'clock in the morning. It felt like I had been up for hours, and was mid morning but in reality I had been awake for the majority of the early morning.

"How come Carlisle is here? Doesn't he work at the NHS hospital?" I asked them while I was trying to pass the time.

"Yes, he does, he felt that it would be the place where his skills would be put to better use. But the hospital here had a unique case which they needed his expertise in cardiology. So he is a visiting doctor here. And of course, we managed to get him to agree to spring you," Edward grinned down at me. I smiled and looked at the clock again. One minute had passed. I was going to drive myself insane with the waiting.

About half hour later Carlisle strode into the room while Alice was telling me about a time when she had almost threw a girl into a wall because of a pair of Valentino sandals which she apparently just had to have. I was laughing at the absurdity of the story when he walked through the door and looked at my chart.

"well I can see that you are feeling better, if you can laugh, then your throat is exponentially better." He smiled at me. "Your chart seems to be in order, so I believe that you are ready to leave."

"Yes!" the word came unbidden from my lips. I covered my mouth with my hand and turned red as I blushed. Everyone else in the room burst out laughing, and I couldn't help joining in. It felt good to laugh, after the trauma of recent events.

"Okay, father, Edward you need to leave the room so that Bex can get dressed and have a shower," Alice order with authority. Carlisle left immediately, with a quick goodbye, obviously fearing the wrath of his adopted daughter, and Edward kissed me once on the forehead before leaving as well. I turned to Alice. "Okay, so what we have to do is......"

Half an hour later I was what Alice considered as presentable, which was a lot more dressed up than I thought necessary for just going home. I was wearing a short black dress with white details around the waist and back, and a square neckline, and some beautiful white and black high heels which had peep toes. She had painted the toes which were showing a bright pink. I was pretty sure that I had seen the dress on the cover of Marie Claire recently, which meant that it was expensive. I was beginning to suspect that she had something planned, and was slightly nervous as to what it was. She had even gone as far as blow drying my hair and pining it up into an elaborate bun. She had also decorated my arm cast with black and white intricate swirls and decoration. I was almost afraid of what she would have done if I had ended up in a neck brace.

"Alice, what do you have planned for me?" I asked her apprehensively.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Just know that Edward is going to explode when he sees you like this," she grinned at me and called out to Edward to come into the room. I stood there nervously. When he walked in and turned to see me standing by the bed his mouth fell open. He quickly strode over to me and pulled me into his arms.

"You look stunning, love," he whispered as he looked down into my eyes. I blushed and looked back up at him. He had swapped his sweater for a black button up shirt and looked gorgeous.

"You don't look too bad yourself. Do you know what Alice has planned?" I asked hoping that he would divulge the information Alice was determined to withhold.

"Yes, and there is not a chance that I am going to tell you," he said as he turned me and put one arm tightly around my waist. "I value my life too highly now that I have you."

Although his last words made me want to melt I still felt annoyed at him for keeping me in the dark. After all I was just leaving the hospital! He laughed at my grimace and led me towards the door, grabbing the duffel bag in one hand. Alice followed after him and when we stepped into the wider hallway she moved forward to my side. Slowly we made our way through the hospital. It felt nice to be walking towards my freedom, where I would be able to eat whenever I wanted to, where I could actually shower regularly.

"Oh no," Alice breathed as we walked down the hallway. I turned to look at her, slightly frightened.

"Alice, don't say oh no, vampires are not supposed to say oh no. They are not supposed to say it at all!" I hissed at her.

"Well outside there are some reporters. They found out what happened and they think it would make a really good story. You know the whole hostage situation, how the guy is still on the loose. They basically want to stir up a frenzy. And someone told them that you were being released today. Only people at the hospital and us know that," she murmured to me as we got closer to the door. I heard Edward growl softly as his hand tightened on mine.

"What's wrong Edward?" I asked nervously.

"Taylor is their source. He found out from Laura that you were leaving today and he told them. He has done a whole interview for money. The little rat." Edward was literally fuming with anger. It was Taylor. How could he do something like that? We had been friends. He was dating Kerry. I knew that wouldn't last much longer after this. That thought made me inexplicably sad. After an event like that everyone involved would need someone who understood. And yet now Kerry would be alone because she had chosen to give her heart to someone who was very good at hiding their true self. And his true self happened to be a money hungry vulture.

"Edward, do we have to go out this way?" I asked him desperately. I did not want to face people asking me about what had happened. He grimaced.

"Unfortunately yes. There are people at every entrance. This one is the closest to the car." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay, let's go."

We walked out of the door and into the cool air of the day. Even though we were getting closer to summer there was still a cool bite to the air. It was overcast and grim. The weather perfectly represented the situation. We started walking quickly towards the people who were standing in a loose formation by the entrance to the car park. Then I heard something which I had been dreading hearing.

"There she is! The girl who was in the school!" a large reporter bellowed as he looked at my face. Crap.

All at once they all surrounded us and began asking questions. Edward and Alice both closed in next to me and Edward put his arm around me. All I could hear was fragments of sentences and words which did not make much sense.

"How do you feel about....."

"....must have been so traumatising...."

"Can I just ask.......?"

"......get a description of him?"

".....matter of national security!"

At that last statement I snorted and turned to look at the man who had said those words. He had a badge which stated that he was from _The Sun_, one of the trashiest tabloids of the country.

"You know damn well this is not about 'national security'" I said, making air quotes around the two words. "This is about you getting a story which people want to read about. It's about getting a story which you can sensationalise and scare people with. Now leave us alone!"

"You heard her," Alice trilled as she pushed him gently out of the way. They refused to move, the mob mentality was all they could make sense of. I'm sure that they believed that they had safety in numbers. Of course, with Alice and Edward, we didn't need numbers.

"She's just got out of hospital. Now move!" Edward snarled at them. They all took a step back, after that, and we were able to get through them to the car. I could see that they were all frightened by him. God, I loved my vampire boyfriend! Myself and Edward collapsed into the back seat as Alice slid into the front. She pulled out of the car park quickly and raced away. I was surprised that Edward had allowed Alice to drive the car while he sat in the back with me. I let it go, and relaxed into his arms.

Alice drove us all the way through town and out again until we reached the outskirts of Basingstoke. I expected her to turn into the road which led to Oakley, and to my house, but instead she carried on and took the winding road which ultimately led to their house. I was beginning to smell a rat.

We pulled up in front of the house and Alice parked on the long driveway, instead of driving around to the garage. Before I could say anything about it Edward had already pulled me out of the car door and was 'helping' me to the front door. His 'help' was in the form of practically dragging me across the paved driveway and up the front steps.

"Edward!" I groaned as I tried to hit has hand away from me. He just laughed and put his arm more conventionally around my waist. "What is going on?"

"You'll see," he promised as he opened the front door. I noticed that Alice had disappeared, probably to go see Jasper, and that the house seemed eerily quiet. Normally you could hear Emmett from a mile away, cursing or laughing in his booming voice. But today, today there was no kind of noise at all. Ominous.

"Okay, now love I am going to cover your eyes up. Please don't get angry or try to hit me, because you will end up hurting yourself," Edward said as he moved his hands from my waist to my face. He did it rather slowly, moving his hands slowly up my back and waist, leaving me breathless. He then stroked my face before gently covering my eyes.

"Okay," I said weakly as I tried unsuccessfully to breathe evenly. I heard him chuckle and could only assume that my breathlessness was what he had been aiming for with this dastardly deed. If I was breathless then I would not be able to complain, or ask what the hell was going on. With my eyes covered up it was all I could do to put my feet one in front of the other, determined not to fall over in the high heels Alice had put me in. Edward guided me through what I assumed was the foyer and around the corner to where the living room was. I could hear vague swishes of fabric, and the occasional cough from more than one location.

Edward uncovered my eyes and I took in the scene in front of me. All of my friends and family were there, standing in front of me all dressed up. They were standing underneath a banner which proclaimed "WELCOME HOME BEX!"

"SURPRISE!" they all shouted.

**any thoughts? i would REALLY like some reviews, and i PROMISE a special sneak preview of the next chapter to everyone who reviews! also, links Bex'sand Alice's party outfits and shoes are on my profile now! go check them out and tell me what you think!**


	26. Chapter 26: Party

**So were on the home stretch now with Englsih Vampires. only a few more chapters to go. **

**Thanks to all the BFFF's - you guys rock!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty Six: Party

My mouth fell open as I looked around the room. My parents and brother were stood next to Carlisle and Esme, laughing together at my surprise. Standing in a group was all of my friends. Laura, Jackson, Kelly, Mitchell, Kerry, Hannah, Dan, Chloe, Chloe, and Katy. There were some who I hadn't seen in weeks and was surprised to see at a party. People who had gone through the tragedy with me, and people who could only stand back and imagine what could have happened. It was quite mind boggling, particularly as these people were stood mixed in with Edward's family. I could see Jasper standing towards the back, with a pained look on his face. Obviously the proximity of so many humans was taxing on his strength. Even Rosalie and Emmett were stood in the room with us, smiling a little at the scene.

And stood right at the front with a professional looking camera was the most dangerous pixie ever to walk this earth. Alice Cullen. She smiled up at me and began snapping pictures of my shock and surprise, as well as everybody else's reactions. She danced around the room, looking at total odds with the massive piece of equipment in her hands. It was comical, the image of this dressed up woman jumping up and down with a camera which was almost as big as her head. I leant into Edward as I laughed at her, and he squeezed my side reassuringly.

"Wow," was all I could think of saying. They all got a good laugh out of that.

"Now, everyone!" Alice commanded as she walked towards the back of the room. "Now that Bex has arrived will everyone please follow me to the back garden?"

We all followed her like good little sheep and walked out of the house through the big French doors which led out onto a wooden deck. The whole garden was decked in lights and balloons, which all proclaimed a message of welcome to me. The garden was massive, bordered with tree's and even had a small stream running through one of the bottom corners of the lawn. It was immaculately presented, and I could see doted around the area were wooden seats and recliners, presumably for us all to sit on during the afternoon. One the far edge of the deck was a long table which was full of party food and nibbles.

Everybody stood awkwardly on the deck for a few minutes, before Emmett picked Rosalie up and ran down the garden, carrying her over his shoulder. I would have thought that the Ice Queen would not have been amused, but she surprised me by laughing. The tension in the air dissipated and people spread into smaller groups throughout the garden. I figured that as the "guest of honour" it would be my duty to go round and talk to everyone so I took hold of Edward's hand, pulling him to the nearest group, which happened to consist of my mother, father, brother and the two eldest Cullens.

"Hi mum, dad, why didn't you tell me about this?" I asked as I hugged both of them in turn. They both made non committal gestures and both Esme and Carlisle laugh.

"You know something," my dad said as he looked Edward up and down. He turned to Carlisle. "That daughter of yours is certainly a handful."

"Well she has to be kept occupied somehow," Carlisle laughed as he put his arm around Esme's shoulders. "I tell you, she is much more of a handful when she is trying to organise your clothing. She actually tried to tell me that the jumper I was wearing was not pristine enough for me to wear. To the supermarket." They all laughed, except for my brother who looked incredibly bored. He hated having to be around adult conversation. I ruffled his hair.

"Cheer up Matt, at least there is food," I chuckled. Edward looked down at my brother and smiled.

"You know what matt, I think that you should ask Emmett if he can find you a football," Edward said, glee twinkling in his eyes. My brother looked up at him in appreciation and ran to where Emmett was standing with Rosalie on the edge of the garden. As soon as Matt reached him Emmett let out a big yell of appreciation and disappeared into the house. He soon returned with a football and the two boys ran to the end of the garden laughing. I shook my head indulgently, then hugged Esme and Carlisle and thanked them for their hospitality.

"Believe me Bex, it would have been much worse if we had said no to Alice," Esme laughed and Edward and I began to walk to the next grouping.

For some time we drifted from group to group as we conversed with all my friends. I was very surprised to see how comfortable Edward was with all of my friends and close relations. It was a good feeling, knowing that the man I planned to spend the rest of my life with was comfortable with my nearest and dearest. I talked to everyone, whether they had been in the incident or not, and began reconnecting with my human friends. I asked about budding relationships, families and general life. It was good to touch base with everyone and remember the things about them which made them some of the best people to know and love.

After a while we drifted to the food table and I piled up a big plate of food. Edward picked at it almost negligently, whilst I practically inhaled the food. I could see that he wasn't actually eating anything, but was making a good job of pretending.

"Love, will you give me a minute?" Edward asked as he let go of my hand. I nodded. "I just have to go and tell Emmett to be a bit more careful."

I looked to where Edward was staring and sure enough, Emmett had managed to kick the ball into one of the large trees. He was preparing to jump up and get it down – a jump which would be beyond humans.

"Okay, go tell your brother off," I laughed as I kissed him on the cheek. Then I began walking towards the wooden deck, with the intention of sitting down.

I sat down on the wooden deck and took in the whole sight. Here were all my friends and family, all together and laughing, starting to heal from the wounds which had been inflicted because of me. I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed so much in one afternoon, let alone when I had heard so much laughter in one place. There was only one thing missing from the image, and that was someone who could never be part of this happy go lucky image ever again. I let myself dwell on Mary-Alice's fate for a few moments. At least she was still alive, I reflected. She could be dead and we could be burying her right this moment. She could go on and live a happy life, even if it was away from all of us. The only thing which soured the thought was the fact that everyone thought she was missing. Her family would never know what happened to her. And it was all my fault. If I had done, something, anything differently, then she could have been enjoying the day with us.

I shook my head to try and clear it of the negative thoughts. Mary-Alice was alive, and there was nothing I could do to change the circumstances. I leant back on the deck and watched everyone together. It was relaxing. I saw Rosalie out of the corner of my eye, walking purposefully towards me.

Rosalie looked stunning, as always, this time in a short grey dress, which had fabric floating down from her shoulders to cross over underneath her bust. Underneath I could see a thin black strappy top. Her pale legs were covered in dark black tights and on her feet were a pair of black high heeled pumps, which had two large straps covering the foot. She walked towards where I was sat by myself on the wooden deck. She slowly sat down beside me and looked out at the forest.

"I won't say that I am sorry for my past actions, because honestly, I'm not." She began speaking to me. "But I will say that I think that you were brave to do what you did for your friends, and to help save their human lives. I can't say that I would have taken that route if it were me." As she spoke she motioned to my cast and my

"Thank you Rosalie," I murmured as she turned to look me in the face.

"I still don't like you, but I will make an effort to be nicer to you. That's all I can offer at the moment," she said as she stood up. I smiled at her, genuinely, for the first time.

"I understand," I said. It was a start at least. Maybe sometime in the future we might become friends. "And Rosalie, thank you for looking after my family. They mean so much to me."

She nodded, and some of the ice thawed from her as she smiled. If she was beautiful when he was glaring, then she was breath taking when she smiled. It made her radiant. Family importance was something we could relate to each other with. She walked across the garden to where Jasper was stood talking to Jackson about god knows what. I was really wondering what to two of them could have in common when Edward came and sat down next to me on the patio. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to him.

"Are you enjoying yourself love?" he asked as he sat there and watched our friends talking and laughing together.

"Yes, I am. It's good to see them all laughing again, to see them enjoying themselves." I said to him as I leant into his embrace, just enjoying being there with him, with no threats over our heads, nothing to worry about. Well, except for the fact that Emmett had just picked my brother up and was throwing him in the air. Honestly, Matt had only really just got out of his casts. It had taken everything from him to convince my parents that he could actually play football in the tournament, and he had spent most of it on the sidelines. Add to that the fact that I had just been in hospital and Emmett was just asking my mother to have a heart attack. Edward must have felt me stiffen in his arms because he rubbed his hand along my arm, tracing a pattern up my neck and softly massaged my neck muscles.

"Don't worry, Emmett will be careful with him. He knows how breakable people are, and Rosalie would kill him anyway – she has a very maternal side," Edward whispered in my ear as he continued to massage my neck. I relaxed further into his body and let out a contented sigh. This man was exactly what I needed to relax.

"It's a bit harder than you'd think Edward, I know exactly what will happen now," I said as I watched my brother race after Emmett into the trees on the edge of the garden. They were both laughing, carefree, Emmett's gleeful face perfectly reflecting my brother's considerably younger one. Emmett really was a child at heart. "My brother will think your brother is amazing, and bug the hell out of him!" I laughed.

"I doubt that very much," Edward laughed as he watched the two of them capering about. "It must be refreshing for Emmett to spend time with someone who has the same mental age as himself."

I heard Emmett laugh as he obviously heard Edward's comment. Only the presence of so many humans kept him from commenting back. I looked over to see my mother and Esme talking together as they watched their two boys laughing together. It was a heart warming sight.

"So, Bex, are you not going to kill me now," Alice giggled as she walked over and sat on the other side of me.

"Well, Alice I am still kind of considering it at the moment," I said, trying to feign seriousness, but it didn't work.

"Silly Bex, I knew that you would have fun if I got you here. That's why I didn't say!"

"Okay then Alice, I forgive you for going behind my back and arranging this," I murmured as I closed my eyes and settled back into Edward's arms. He held me close to his body on the steps as he hummed to me what I could only assume was a lullaby. It certainly sent me to sleep quickly enough.

I must have been asleep for a while, because when I became aware of my surroundings again it was dark and everyone was sat on comfortable chairs which had been moved out to the covered deck. Edward and I were sat on one of these together, with me wrapped in a warm blanket. My head was resting on Edward's lap and his hands were tenderly stroking my side and face. I sighed with contentment and relaxed back into the seat.

On the seat next to me was Jasper, who had a very chirpy Alice on his lap. They were laughing together over something that had been said between them. It was a private laugh which only concerned the two of them, and really showed the introverted nature of their relationship. Opposite them on the side of the deck nearest to the house was Rosalie and Emmett, who were showing off their very extroverted relationship. They were kissing, but it was very tender and caring, not passionate and brash which I normally associated with the two of them together. Esme, Carlisle and my parents were sat on a long sofa talking together. It was nice to see all of my family together – I considered the Cullens as much my family as anyone else.

"Where's Matt?" I asked groggily as I wiggled my way to a more vertical position, resting my head against Edward's chest. He pulled me into him and wrapped his arms around me.

"He's in the house," Esme answered as she smiled down at us. "All of his and Emmett's antics during the day really wore him out, and he is now sleeping. If only it were that easy to wear Emmett out!" she laughed as Carlisle put his arm around her.

"oh, believe me, when he wakes up he will be as active as ever," my mum laughed. I nodded my agreement and closed my eyes again.

"Hey, love, I think that you need to be getting to bed," Edward said as he sat up some more. I shook my head.

"I don't wanna, Edward. I don't wanna move," I protested. Edward laughed and pulled me up into his arms. I wrapped my cast and other arm around his neck as he put his under my back and knees, carrying me bridal style.

"I think that it is probably best if you stay here tonight," Carlisle said to my parents. "I want to make sure Bex, is alright in the morning and we have plenty of space. You are welcome to any of the rooms."

My parents thanked them as Edward carried me through the French doors into the house. I didn't pay much attention to the rooms we passed through as he took me through the house, up the stairs and into his bedroom. In the middle of the room was a giant bed with a beautiful wrought iron frame. Edward laid me down on it and then went to his wardrobe. He pulled out a long t-shirt and a pair of shorts with an elastic waistband and laid them on the bed beside me.

"There you go something for you to sleep in other than that dress." He was nervous as he spoke. "Unless, you want something else. I could get you something of Alice's or Rosalie's."

"No Edward, that's fine," I murmured as I sat up. Edward backed awkwardly towards the door.

"I will give you some privacy to get changed," Edward said as he went to open the door.

"Edward, wait," I said as I stood up. He paused and looked back at me. "Can you undo the zipper on this dress? I can't reach it with my cast on."

Edward swallowed nervously and walked back to me. I turned and Edward grabbed hold of the zipper. He pulled it down, ever so slowly, until it reached the base of my back and uncovered my whole pale back, and the lacy black bra Alice had made me wear. Edward took in a shocked breath and took a step back. I giggled as I pulled my arms out of the dress and held it up to my front as I reached for the top. It was a plain black t-shirt with a Beetles drum logo on the front. I laughed. He had probably seen The Beetles live to get this t-shirt. I pulled it over my head and let the dress drop to the floor. I reached with my good arm behind my back and unclasped my bra, letting it fall to the ground. I heard a sharp intake of breath from Edward as I put my free arm into the sleeve. I couldn't manage to pull my cast arm through the sleeve so I turned to Edward.

"Can you help me get my arm through the sleeve please," I asked as I took in his still form which was staring at the dress which was pooled at my feet on the floor. "Edward? Earth to Edward?"

He shook his head for a moment and then took a step forward to take hold of my wrist which was hanging out of the bottom of the t-shirt. He held open the sleeve with the other hand and gently moved my arm up my body. He slid it through the sleeve and then stepped back immediately. There was a look of shock on his face, almost as if he had been overwhelmed by that simple action. I turned and took hold of the shorts, although in all fairness I didn't really need them. Edward's top was more like a dress on me anyway, but I felt that I should wear the shorts to make him more comfortable. I slipped them on and twisted the waistband over a couple of times to make it stay up. Then I sat down on the bed and looked at Edward. He was still stood still, looking at me.

"Edward, are you going to come and lie down with me?" I asked as I made my way to the top of the bed and wormed my way under the covers. He walked over to me, his movements very disjointed. He sat and then brought his legs up beside me. Then he lay down next to me and put one arm around me.

"You will be the death of me," he said breathlessly and he stroked my hair. I giggled. "You have no idea how much I like you wearing my clothes."

I smiled up at him and rested my head on his chest.

"I like wearing your clothes too, Edward." I giggles again, tiredness making me not quite lucid. "I love you Edward," I said as I began to drift off.

"I love you too, Bex," he whispered back to me.

I woke up the next morning in Edward's arms, in his bed. It was a very gratifying feeling, knowing that he didn't have to rush away before my parents came into the room, or even woke up. I was content to lie in his arms and look at his beautiful face. He seemed content to do the same. No words were spoken, we just looked into each other's eyes. I could see in his face a promise of a life together, a commitment which would last eternity. Of course, that wouldn't happen unless I was like him, but I refused to dwell on anything. I only thought about the present.

I was content until....

"Edward!" a shrill voice shrieked and Edward grimaced. I snuggled down into his embrace.

"Ignore her, please," I begged. "I want to stay here!"

"I wish we could love. But unfortunately we have very little time until she comes in here," he said grudgingly as he held me tight to him "Five, four, three, two, one."

As Edward uttered the word one Alice burst through the door and jerked open the curtains to show a sun filled sky. Light burst into the room, and I half expected Edward and Alice to shy away from it. Instead they stayed perfectly normal. I watched as a sunbeam fell over Edward's face and onto the pillow beside him. It sparkled like diamonds and sent facets of light off in hundreds of different directions. I reached out a stroked his face, awestruck by the pure beauty of his inhuman side. He closed his eyes as my hand slid across his marble skin. It was wonderful.

"Oh shoot, I forgot about that!" Alice said grumpily. "Never mind, as you were." She stormed out of the room, yelling Jasper's name out as she did. The door swung close behind her, but neither of us paid any attention to it. Edward's eyes opened and I looked into their bronze depths.

"This doesn't bother you?" he asked hesitantly as he lifted one hand from my waist to my hand. His covered mine as I stroked his face softly.

"Not in the least." I murmured, still transfixed by his eyes. "I think it's kind of magical."

"You are one peculiar creature, my love," he said with wonderment in his voice.

"Says the vampire," I joked as I lifted my face to his. He smiled at the joke before covering my lips with his. Blissful.

**So what do you think? Please review - a preview of the next chapter will be included with EVERY review reply**


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